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THE YOUTHFUL HAUNTS OF LONGFELLOW 



AUTHOR'S EDITION 




1 1 1 :n IV ^ \\ A i)si\\'< )K*'i'i I i,< >N<ir'Kiji^)\\ 



KTIII.I. I II A III \**l. riniM 



THE YOUTHFUL HAUNTS 
OF LONGFELLOW 




By GEORGE THORNTON EDWARDS 



PORTLAND, ME. 

GEO. T. EDWARDS 

1907 






I 

AUG 5 90r 

corv L. 

f ■ ■ ■ 1 1 



Copyright, 1907 

BY 

Gborge Thornton Edwards 



TO 

/libs Wife 

WHOSE SYMPATHY, HELPFUL SPIRIT, CAMARADERIE 

AND KINDLY CRITICISM HAVE MADE THIS 

LABOR OF LOVE POSSIBLE, 

THIS VOLUME 

IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 



CONTENTS 



PREFACE ....... 

LONGFELLOW, 1807-IQO7 .... 

I. THE BIRTHPLACE AND BOYHOOD OF 

LONGFELLOW .... 

II. THE YOUTH AND ASPIRATIONS OF 

LONGFELLOW .... 

III. "my lost youth" 

Each stanza specially illustrated with a 
scene from " the beautiful town that is seated 
by the sea." 

IV. "the sea FIGHT FAR AWAY " 
V. " HIGHFIELD " ... 

VI. THE VERANDAH 

VII. THE "rOPEWALk" AND "kERAMOS" 

VIII. " LONGFELLOW ELMS " 

IX. WADSWORTH HALL HIRAM, MAINE 

X. "the lighthouse" 
XI. "the rainy day" . 

XIII. INDEX ..... 



PAGE 

xvii 
xxiii 



25 
53 



77 

95 

109 

123 
137 
155 
173 

185 

195 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW F)-Ontispiece 

Drawing by Ethel Ida Chase from a paint- 
ing by G. P. A. Healey. Courtesy of the 
Pine Tree Magazine. 

HENRY \VADS\VORTH LONGFELLOW . . XXV 

Lamson Photo. 

HOUSE IN WHICH THE PARENTS OF THE 

POET FIRST WENT HOUSEKEEPING . . XXxi 

Opposite First Parish Church, Portland, 
Maine. Lamson Print. 

BIRTHPLACE OF HENRY WADSWORTH LONG- 
FELLOW ....... 5 

Corner Fore and Hancock Streets, Port- 
land, Maine. From an old photograph. 

WADSWORTH-LONGFELLOW iSIANSION . . 9 

Congress Street, Portland, Maine. Lam- 
son Print. 

THE OLD PORTLAND ACADEMY . . . I5 

Which Longfellow attended when a boy. 
From an old wood cut. 

RUINS OF THE OLD PORTLAND ACADEMY . 19 

After being blown up by gun-powder dur- 
ing the great fire of 1866. From an old 
wood cut. 



X Illustrations 

PORCH AND DOORWAY OF W ADSWoRTH-LONG- 

FELL(J\V MANSION • . . . , 2Q 

Portland, Maine. Lanison Print. 

OLD FIRST PARISH .M EETINO-HOUSE . . 33' 

Which Longfellow attended when a child. 
From an old wood cut. 

OLD MARKET HALL . • . . -39' 

Which formerly occupied the spot where now 
stands the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, 
Portland, Maine. From an old photograph. 

THE FIRST PARISH CHURCH ... 43 

Erected on site of old meeting-house, Port- 
land, Maine. Lamson Print. 

ZILI'AH WADSWORTH LONOFELLOW . . 5 1 

Mother of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 
Courtesy of the Pine Tree Magazine. 

" Mv Lost Youth : " 

I. "the BEAUTIFUL TOWN THAT IS 

SEATED BY THE SEA " . . 55 

From Fort Sumner Park, Portland, Maine. 
Lamson Print. 

II. THE " ISLANDS THAT WERE THE 

HESI'ERIDES " . . . -57 

As seen from the roofs of Portland. 
Lamson Print. 



Illustrations 



III. THE BLACK WHARVES AND THE 

SLIPS " ..... 59 

An every-day dock scene in Portland, 
Maine. Lamson Print. 

IV. "the fort upon the hill" . . 6l 

Fort Allen Park, Portland, Maine. Lam- 
son Print. 

V. "in their graves o'erlooking the 

tranquil bay" . . . .63" 

Monuments to the •' Dead Captains," East- 
ern Cemetery, Portland, Maine. Smith Photo. 

VI. " THE SHADOWS OF DEERING's woods" 65 

Deering Park, Portland, Maine. Lamson 
Print. 

VII. " AMONG THE DREAMS OF THE DAYS 

THAT WERE " . . . .67 

Middle Street in 1841. From an old pho- 
tograph. 

VIII. " STRANGE TO ME NOW ARE THE FORMS 

I MEET " . . . . .69 

Middle Street in 1866, just before the 
great fire. From an old photograph. 

IX. " THE TREES THAT o'eRSHADOW EACH 

WELL KNOWN STREET" . . 71 

State Street, Portland, Maine. Shaylor 
Photo. 

X. "and DEERING'S WOODS ARE FRESH 

AND FAIR " . . . . -73 

Deering Park. Lamson Print. 



xii Illustrations 

"the sea FKlHr FAR AWAY " ... 77 

Tiattle Ijetween the Knterprise and Boxer. 
Copyrighted by F. Stanhope Hill from the 
original painting. Used by special permission 
of the owner. 

" HIGHFIELl) " . . . . . .97 

The home of Longfellow's brother, Alex- 
ander Longfellow, Portland, Maine. From 
a photograph by the author. 

THE "WASHINGTON ELM " . . . lOI 

.\t •• Highfield." Portland, Maine. Lamson 
I'rint. 

THE VERANDAJi IN 1847 .... Ill* 
From an old wood cut. Courtesy of Port- 
land Directory Co. 

THE MARINE HOSPITAL . . . .115 

Portland, Maine. Huilt on the former site 
of the Verandah. Lamson Print. 

" LONGFELLOW ELMS " . . . I3O 

Home of the poet's paternal grandparents, 
Ciorham, Maine. Lamson Print. 

" WHERE THE E.MBRACING IVY HOLDS . I +0 

CL<JSE THE HOAR ELM IN ITS FOLDS " 

The Longfellow Farm, Gorham, Maine. 
Lamson Print. 

THE WAIiSWORIH ARMS INITIAL PIECE . I57' 



Illustrations xiii 

WADSWORTH HALL ..... l6l ' 

Home of Longfellow's maternal grand- 
parents, Hiram, Maine. Lamson Print. 

c / 
INTERIOR OF WADSWORTH HALL . . 107 

Hiram, Maine. Lamson Print. 

GENERAL PELEG WADSWORTH SILHOUETTE 169 

ELIZABETH WADSWORTH, WIFE OF GENERAL 

WADSWORTH SILHOUETTE . . . I7I 

PORTLAND HEAD LIGHT .... 179 ■- 

Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Lamson Print. 

THE OLD GARDEN OF THE WADSWORTH- 

LONGFELLOW MANSION .... 189 
Courtesy of Maine Historical Society. 
Lamson Print. 



POEMS QUOTED 



THE BATTLE OF LOVELl's POND (1820) 

The first published verses of Henry Wads- 
worth Longfellow. 

SONG (1826) ...... 

The last verses of Longfellow's to appear 
in the Portland Gazette. 

THE BUILDING OF THE SHIP ( 1849) 
AUTUMN (1824) .... 

THE HANGING OF THE CRANE (1873) 
THE FOOTSTEPS OF ANGELS (1839) . 
MY LOST YOUTH (1855) 54-56-58- . 

60-62-64-66-68 
CHANGED (i860) 
THE TIDES (1847) . 
THE ROPEWALK (1854) 
KERAMOS (1877) 
THE angler's SONG (1825) 
THE SONGO RIVER (1875) 



THE HOMESTEAD 



24 



28 



35 

42 

47 
48 



0-72 
106 
121 
125 
131-133-136 
145 
147 
151 



By Samuel Longfellow, brother of the poet. 



xvi Poems Quoted 

THE LIGHTHOUSE (1849) . . . I75-181 

THE RAINY DAY (1841) .... 187 
THE EVENING STAR (1845) . . . 193 

Said to be the only love song ever written 
by Longfellow. 

Note : The (juotations from the copyrighted poems of 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, as also the extracts from 
his Journal and Letters, which are given in this volume, have 
been used by special permission of the publishers, Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co. 



PREFACE 



PREFACE 

FROM time immemorial, writers have been 
wont to compare the products of their 
endeavors with various named craft of 
more or less pretension. The favorite term by 
which an author refers to his book is, "the frail 
bark" which he launches on "the sea of books," 
or b}' some similar figure that may please his 
fancy. 

Longfellow, in his "Epistle Dedicatory" to 
Outre-Mer, says, "What perils await the advent- 
urous author who launches forth with the 
uncertain current of public favor in so frail a 
bark as this. The very rocking of the tide may 
overset him, or peradventure some free-booting 
critic, prowling about the great ocean of letters 
may descry him through a gray goose quill and 
perhaps sink him without more ado." 

Van Dyke, in a preface to one of his editions 
of the "Otherwise Man" says of it, "It is not a 
man-of-war, nor even a high-sided merchant 
man, only a small peaceful sailing vessel." 



XX Preface 

Still others have followed out various phases 
of the metaphor. 

But this little work, the author would compare, 
not with the high-sided merchant man, nor with 
the agressive man-of-war; nor with the peaceful 
sailing vessel, nor yet with the frail bark of the 
poet's fancy, but rather, on account of the 
purpose of the work, with the unpretentious 
though sturdy little pilot boat, which, when 
a sail heaves in sight, goes out to meet the 
stranger and offers him safe conduct to port. 

As captain of this particular pilot boat, the 
writer takes occasion to say, that a duly licensed 
pilot, being first and last a sea faring man, 
should properh' be well qualified to guide the 
stranger through that sea of fact and fancy on 
whose surface floats the truths and fictions of 
the early life of any great man; and he assures 
you. Gentle Reader, that notwithstanding his 
pilot's license gives him the privilege of occas- 
ionally going out of the beaten course of historic 
facts into the realm of imagination, that he will 
endeavor to conduct you mainly through the safe 
waters of historical research, and if you will stay 



Preface xxi 

with him, he will see you safely over those 
shoals of unwarranted error and untruth in which 
one is liable to come to grief, unless he has a 
well informed pilot, at the outset. He will 
observe the rules laid down for pilots; he will 
not misguide 3'ou; neither will he lend his 
license to anjs or decline to go with any stranger 
who ma}' hail him. 

Therefore, if you would successfullv navigate 
amongst the reefs of uncertainty, on which, 
unassisted, one is almost sure to be blown b\' 
the head winds of misinformation and contra- 
diction, you should, without delay, secure the 
services of the pilot of this trustworthy little craft 
at the outset, and you will be insured safe 
passage through the various currents of interest, 
legend and romance connected with the early 
life of the world's most loved poet, in the city 

by the sea. 

The Author. 
BrightOxX, July, 1907. 



LONGFELLOW 

1807-1907 



LONGFELLOW 

FEBRUARY 27, 1807-I907 

WHAT is a hundred years — a century ! 
'Tis but a moment, to eternity; 
And yet it is more time than that called life, 
Or man's allotment in this world of strife. 
A hundred years ! Three generations come 
And gone, perhaps, and yet there may be some 
Are here to-day, who saw or mayhap knew 
And talked with him; O favored few. 
Who clasped the hand of him, and felt its glow — 
The poet, born a hundred years ago ! 

O gentle singer, how thy song endears 
The people of two mighty nations to 
Thyself as years roll on ! If thou but knew 

(The inspiration of my youthful years) 

How we have shared thy sorrows, hopes and fears ! 
What magic filled thy words, or was it art. 
That struck the chord responsive in the heart, 

To bring a smile, or flood the eye with tears? 



xxviii Longfellow 

To-day thou livest in a thousand hearts ! 
Where'er thy verse is read, thy song imparts 
Sweet memories of woods and early loves; 
Of murmuring brook, or sound of cooing doves, 
With thee, in thought, I've ' ' wandered up and down " 
The " pleasant streets " of this, the " dear old town " 
Of thy lost youth ; the city by the sea, 
Which in thy 3-outh had known the heart of thee; 
With thee, I wander down among the " slips," 
Vnd wonder at the " m3'stery of the ships," 
And, dreaming of the " magic of the sea," 
Makes my lost youth come back, as thine to thee. 

As long as hearts respond to motives pure, 
And pleasures simple do the heart delight, 
And love of home inspires us to the right. 

So long thy songs and memory'll endure 

In all our hearts, alike, the rich and poor ! 
The high and low, alike, love to rehearse 
The stories of the heart in simple verse, 

Whether of foreign clime, or rock bound shore. 

The poet is not dead, nor cannot die; 
His words live on and past the century ! 



Longfellow 

His pure sweet presence, living in his song, 
With potent force speaks to the mighty throng. 
To vibrant strings of sorrow, love and J03' 
Thou played'st upon, the old man and the boy 
Respond alike, for this alone thou art 
And ever'll be — the poet of the heart ! 




HENRV WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 



THE BIRTHPLACE AND BOYHOOD OF 
LONGFELLOW 



THE BIRTHPLACE AND BOYHOOD OF 
LONGFELLOW 

IF Long-fellow could have had the selection of 
the place of his birth, he could not have 
found on either continent a town more de- 
lightful, or one that was surrounded by a quieter 
atmosphere for his refining, than Portland, 
Maine. 

The city of Portland might be described as 
lying on either side of a ridge, along the crest 
of which runs the main street. This ridge dips 
in the middle, or to be more accurate, perhaps 
'twere better to say that it rises at either end. 

The view from the western end of the city is 
of quiet rivers running through green meadows 
and fertile fields of varying color, with the white 
hills of New Hampshire in the distance, and 
with occasional glowing and unmatchable sun- 
sets ; while the eastern end of the city looks out 
upon one of the most remarkable scenes that can 
be found or even imagined in any part of the 
world. A beautiful bay, studded with the 
"islands that were the Hesperides" of Long- 



4 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

fellow's boyish dreams, and dotted with the in- 
coming and outgoing craft in the channel, 
stretches away to the eastward as far as eye can 
reach. The lumber laden coasters at anchor in 
the upper harbor, and perhaps one or more of the 
ocean steamers that shuttle between Portland 
and Liverpool, firing its parting gun. as it leaves 
the black wharve> behind it. the old forts along 
the shore, with now and then a glimpse of Old 
Glory on the flag staff, as it is wafted to the 
breeze above the ramparts of Fort Preble, tend 
to make it, not only a glorious, but an inspiring 
sight. 

Is it a wonder, then, that Longfellow loved "the 
beautiful town that is seated by the sea?" 

To the lover of quaint and delightsome places, 
"the ])lcasant streets of the dear old town" are 
a joy never ending. State Street with its dignified 
elms, is probably Portland's most beautiful 
avenue. It is at the head of this street that the 
statue to Longfellow has been appropriately 
placed. No better location could have been 
thought of, for that matter, for a place to bear 
the name of the distinguished poet, for Long- 



The Birthplace and Boyhood of Longfellow 7 

fellow Square is away from that portion of the 
main street devoted to business interests, and 
is surrounded by old residences that seem to lend 
their silent approval to the selection of this spot, 
for perpetuating the expression of Portland's 
love for her favored son. It is, further, the first 
point of historic interest the stranger in Port- 
land comes upon, when entering the city from 
the Union Station. 

Among the picturesque sights in Portland, 
then, as now, were the wharves, where, in the 
time when Portland's trade with the West Indies 
was at its height, "the Spanish sailors with 
bearded lips'' were wont to rove among the 
barrels of Jamaica rum and hogsheads of Porto 
Rico molasses, which formed the principal im- 
ports of the day; and the piles of deal plank 
which were hauled in from the surrounding 
country for export. 

Anyone visiting these wharves to-day has but 
to shut his eyes, to bring before him, in imagina- 
tion, the scenes of this early period, and see and 
hear the confusion attendant upon the discharg- 
inof of one of these West Indian cargoes. The 



8 The ] 'onthful Haunts of Longfellow 

heavy tierces of molasses beins^ rolled up the 
skids by sheer brute force ; the men pulling and 
pushing- and sweating and swearing ; the regular 
and almost rhythmic grunts of the straining 
negroes as they apply their mighty strength to 
the task, in unison ; the intermingling of the 
songs of the South 1)\- these dark-skinned sons 
of Ham ; the pound, pound, pound of the hoofs 
of dray-horses straining under their heavy loads ; 
the crack of the teamster's whips; the creak 
of the hoisting blocks : and burdened breathing of 
the laborers as the heavy hogsheads are hoisted 
out of the hold: all go to make a picture of ap- 
parent confusion, but one of unfailing interest 
to him who has had the good fortune to wit- 
ness it. 

Now, however, the wharves and slips are given 
over to fishermen clad in picturesque attire, their 
boats heaped high with shinning cod and had- 
dock, their language no less picturesque, perhaps, 
than their garments. 

The house at the corner of Fore and Hancock 
Streets in which Longfellow was born, was at 
that time in the heart of the town ; — in the loca- 



The Birthplace and Boyhood of Longfellow 1 1 

tion where most of the fine houses of the time 
had been constructed, and where a large number 
of the first families lived. At that time the 
crystal waters of Casco Bay came nearly to the 
dooryard of this destined to be historic building ; 
and where is now located the tracks of the Grand 
Trunk Railway (all of which as well as the large 
grain elevators have been built on "made land") 
was a beautiful white sandy beach lapped by 
glistening waves. It is hard, even in imagina- 
tion, to realize that where is now bustle and con- 
fusion, not unmixed with a certain amount of 
squalor, once reigned the peace and quiet of a 
restful and aristocratic neighborhood, that looked 
out upon the sunlit waters of a beautiful bay. 

It was on the 2Tth day of February, 1807, 
while the future parents of the poet were spend- 
ing the winter with his father's sister, ]Mrs. 
Stephenson, that Henry W. Longfellow was 
born. In a little more than a year after the event 
which gave this old three storied house historic 
value and interest for all time to come, the 
parents moved with their children to the Wads- 
worth Mansion, next to the Preble House on Con- 



12 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

gress Street, so that Longfellow's youth and all 
his youthful associations were connected with 
this house rather than with his birthplace. At 
that time the brick mansion (it was the first brick 
house erected in Portland, the bricks having been 
brougiit from Philadelphia ) was so far on the 
outskirts of the town, that it might well have 
been described as being located in the suburbs ; 
and the old fashioned one ring circus exhibited 
in the field directly back of this mansion on its 
annual visits to Portland. 

Let us stand for a moment in Monument 
Square and looking about us, expose the sensi- 
tized plate of the imagination to our surround- 
ings, and take a snap shot, as it were, of old 
Market Square at the time of the poet's infancy. 

We see the square surrounded with little 
wooden shops, nearly all of them but one story 
high. On the site, where now is located the 
offices of the American Express Company, w'as 
a two story and a half structure known as 
Marston's Tavern. It was here that Colonel 
Thompson and his men took Mowatt a prisoner 
in 1775, for which act the doughty Britisher got 



The Birthplace and Boyhood of Longfellozo 13 

ample revenge later by bombarding and burning 
the greater part of the old town. In the center 
of the square, where now stands Portland's 
tribute to her bravest, the soldiers' monument, 
was then located the old covered hay scales, the 
market house and some small shops terminating 
in a heater or one story wooden "flat iron build- 
ing" nearly opposite the head of Preble Street. 
At the corner of Preble Street on the land now 
occupied by the Preble House was the Preble 
Mansion, whose construction was begun by 
Commodore Preble, the hero of Tripoli, who 
ini fortunately did not live to occupy it. Back of 
this mansion was the private garden of the 
widow Preble, which extended nearly if not quite 
to Cumberland Avenue. 

It may be interesting to know that the present 
Preble House was built around the old Preble 
]\Iansion, the original walls of which were not 
disturbed, so that the old mansion forms the 
middle section of the hotel building as it now 
stands. 

Next to the Prebles stood the Wadsworth 
Mansion, the only thing in this locality which 



14 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

to-day remains unchanged, while beyond was 
the Morton ]\Iansion with its gardens extending 
to Brown Street. 

Opposite these three splendid old dwellings, 
and occupying the entire block bounded by 
Brown, Congress, Center and Free Streets, was 
the wood market. Here the farmers with their 
sleds drawn over the crunching snow by the 
patient oxen, came, in winter, to dispose of their 
loads of cordwood. Here, with a railing between 
them and the sidewalk, was a row of fine 
old trees, beneath which the cattle could stand 
sheltered from the raj-s of summer's sun or the 
blast of winter's wind, and feed from the hay 
which was tossed on the ground in front of them. 

Here, many a shrewd bargain between the 
Yankee farmers and the townspeople was driven, 
and here. I have no doubt, many a story of yet 
earlier days, of the Indian fights, or of the burn- 
ing of the town by ]Mowatt. were told and re- 
told again, while the noonday repast was being 
consumed, or the woodsman was cutting up a 
fresh supply of tobacco to last him his return trip 
to the farm. 




THE OLD PORTLAND ACADEMY 

WHICH LOKGFELLOW ATTENDED WHEN A BOY 



The Birthplace and Boyhood of Longfellow 17 

Farther down the main street to the East, 
stood the old First Parish Church, which the 
poet's parents attended, the parsonage, now the 
Chadwick House, and the old Portland Academy 
where Longfellow received the greater part of 
his early education. 

The Wadsworth Mansion had been built 
twenty-two years previous to Longfellow's birth 
by General Peleg Wadsworth who was the father 
of Longfellow's mother, and in this house the 
poet lived with his parents until he was fourteen 
j^ears of age, when he entered Bowdoin College. 

It was in this house that Longfellow at the 
age of seven years wrote his first letter. It was 
to his father in Boston, and in it he asks, first, 
that his father buy his little sister Ann a "little 
Bible like little Betsey's" and as almost an after- 
thought at the end of his letter he adds, "I wish 
you would buy me a drum." To this childish 
epistle is signed his full name, "Henry W. 
Longfellow." 

Little did he or his parents at that time think 
that that name, when written in after years, 
would in the very spelling of it be an inspiration 



1 8 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

\V 

for' good to thousands of tliose who would later 
read his then unwritten verse. 

At three years of age Longfellow was first 
sent to school. The schoolhouse which he at- 
tended was a little one story affair with clap- 
lx)arded walls and a square pitched roof and had 
two separate entrances whicli opened into a 
vestil)ulc where the coats and hats were hung. 
The vestibule again opened through separate 
doorways into the main schoolroom in much the 
same manner that many of the little isolated 
schoolhouses in various parts of Xew England 
do to this day. The location of this seat of 
learning was on the southerly side of what is now 
Spring Street at a point about halfway between 
High and Park Streets. From this fact it can 
be inferred that the City had already begun 
its westward march, though for years after this 
all the land to the west of High Street remained 
unchanged and was mostly either "swamp or sun- 
burnt pasture land" and thought to be unfit for 
building purposes. 

"Marm" Fellows, as Mrs. Fellows, the teacher 
and principal of this school was called, has the 




RUINS OF THE OLD PORTLAND ACADEMY 

AFTEK BEING BLOWN L' P BY GUN POWDER DURING THE GREAT FIRE OF 1866 



The Birthplace and Boyhood of Longfellow 2 1 

honor of having taught the poet his first rudi- 
ments in language and deportment. 

It must have been an interesting sight in those 
days to have seen the httle fellow, not yet out of 
his dresses, jogging along on the back of the 
family horse, with the burly negro servant be- 
hind ; the child's fair complexion, chestnut hair, 
rosy cheeks and bright blue eyes, contrasting in a 
marked degree with the ebon skin and curly black 
wool of the African, who, with one hand holding 
the little fellow on the saddle, with the other held 
the rein that guided the faithful equine to his 
destination. 

After two years of instruction under Marm 
Fellows, Henry was thought old enough to be 
sent to the public school which was located on 
Love Lane (now Center Street) and but a short 
distance from the boy's home. Many of the 
rougher boys of the town attended this school 
and without doubt made life wretched for the 
sensitive impressionable child. At this school, 
it is said, was enacted one of the tragedies of 
Longfellow's childhood. 

At the end of a week he came home one day, 



2 2 7'he Youthful Haunts of Longfellim.' 

his heart nearly breaking, his cheeks flaming with 
anger. His teacher had accused him of a he. 
One can imagine the effect on this conscientious 
high minded child, — he, who as his sister had 
said, had "never a mean thought or act" and who 
was noted for being generous as well as truthful. 
Suffice it to say he was never required to go to 
this school again. 

Soon after this he was sent to the Portland 
Academy, where, under the tutorship of Master 
Carter he made rapid progress in his studies. 
He entered into every task with an ardor that 
gave a zest to his work and won him praise from 
his instructor. The old Academy was located 
nearly opposite the First Parish Church, on the 
site now^ occupied by Congress Hall, and stood 
until the great fire which devastated Portland in 
1.SG6, during which it was blown up with gun- 
powder in an effort to save the buildings to the 
North of it from destruction by the flames. 

Longfellow had by this time grown to be a 
handsome youth, with a frankness that won all 
that came in contact with him, and had already 
begun to amuse himself by writing verses. 



The Birthplace and Boyhood of Longfellow 23 

On the westerly side of Exchange Street, for- 
merly called Court Street, and nearly opposite 
Milk Street, where was formerly located the 
printing- office of one Mr. Shirley, was printed in 
the early part of the last century that dispenser 
of Portland news and society gossip at large, the 
old Portland Gazette. On the evening of the 
seventeenth of November in the year 1820, there 
appeared in the poet's corner of this paper, over 
the signature of "Henry," the first published 
verses written by Longfellow. 

The story of how Longfellow, at the then 
early age of thirteen years, slipped his manu- 
script into the letter box with "trembling and 
misgiving heart ;" how he went again, and "stood 
shivering in the November air, afraid to venture 
in ;" how later, his sister, the sole sharer of his 
secret, waited with him while his father read the 
paper through and "said nothing, — perhaps saw 
nothing" — and of the boy's inexpressible delight 
when he saw the poem was there, has all been 
told by his brother and biographer, Samuel 
Longfellow, in his work. The Life of Long- 
fellow, published nearly seventy years after this 
event. 



24 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

Perhaps no better way of closing- this sketch 
of Longfellow's boyhood could be devised than 
by giving these verses in full. They were en- 
titled, "The Battle of LovelFs Pond." 

THE BATTLE OF LO\ELL'S POND 

The First Published J'erses of 
Henry Wadsivorth Longfellow. 

Cold, cold is the north wind and rude is the blast 
That sweeps like a hurricane loudly and fast, 
As it moans through the tall waving pines lone and drear, 
Sighs a requiem sad o'er the warrior's bier. 

The war-whoop is still, and the savage's yell 
Has sunk into silence along the wild dell ; 
The din of the battle, the tumult, is o'er 
And the war-clarion's voice is now heard no more. 

The warriors that fought for their country, and bled. 
Have sunk to their rest; the damp eartli is their bed; 
No stone tells the place where their ashes repose. 
Nor points out the spot from the graves of their foes. 

They died in their glory, surrounded by fame. 
And Victory's loud trump their death did proclaim ; 
They are dead ; but they live in each Patriot's breast, 
And their names are engraven on honor's bright crest. 



THE YOUTH AND ASPIRATIONS OF 
LONGFELLOW 



THE YOUTH AND ASPIRATIONS OF 
LONGFELLOW 

SOMEONE has said, 'The flower of youth 
never appears more beautiful than when it 
bends toward the Sun of Righteousness." 
The flower of Longfellow's youth, then, was ex- 
quisitely beautiful, since his sense of what was 
just and honest, his high-mindedness, coupled 
with his naturally kind hearted and affectionate 
nature and infinite trust in the Divinity never 
diminished, but continued throughout the years 
of his after life. That he was ambitious, one 
has but to read extracts from his journal and 
letters to discover. In his early school days he 
was "industrious, prompt, and persevering" and 
full of enthusiasm for every undertaking. At 
college he maintained a high rank in his class, 
among such classmates as Nathaniel Hawthorne 
and others, who later achieved national fame 
for themselves in literature and politics. His in- 
stincts and high principles kept him from mis- 
chief and from college pranks and escapades, and 
in 1824 we find him writincr his father, that he 



28 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

"eagerly aspires after future eminence in litera- 
ture." In fact, he writes, "My whole soul burns 
most ardently for it, and every earthly thought 
centers in it," and later : "Whatever I do study 
ought to be engaged in with all my soul, for I 
WILL BE EMINENT in something." 

After graduating from Bovvdoin College, 
Longfellow spent the winter of 1825-1826 in 
Portland. Here, in April of the latter year, was 
printed a poem, the last of his to appear in the 
Gazette. It was called, "SONG." 

SONG 

The Last Poem of Longfellozv's to Appear in the 
Portland Gazette. 

Where from the eye of day 
The dark and silent river 
Pursues thro' tangled woods a way 
O'er which the tall trees quiver. 

The silver mist that breaks 
From out that woodland cover 
Betrays the hidden path it takes, 
And hangs tlic current over. 




PORCH AND DOORWAY OF WADSWORTH-LONGFELLOW 
MANSION 



The Youth and Aspirations of Longfellow 31 

So oft the thoughts that burst 
From hidden springs of feeling 
Like silent streams, unseen at first, 
From our cold hearts are stealing ; 

But soon the clouds that veil 
The eye of Love when glowing 
Betray the long unwhispered tale 
Of thoughts in darkness flowing. 

Let us look about us and note some of the 
changes that have been made in Portland during 
Longfellow's absence at college. 

Down by the old birthplace, to prevent the 
further encroachment of the sea in front of the 
old residences facing on the Fore Street, had 
been built a sea wall ; and two wharves had been 
extended out from the same, so that vessels of 
considerable draft could come up to them for 
their necessary supply of water from Munjoy's 
springs, to last them through their voyages to 
the Indies. 

One of the old residences near the house in 
which the poet was born was fitted up with a 
large hose and coupling so that water could be 



32 The Youthful Haunts of Long felloiv 

pumped or syphoned to the water barrels aboard 
the different vessels without the necessity of 
carrying- or carting. 

The old birthplace, it may be stated, was built 
in 1802 by one William Campbell and sold to 
Samuel Stephenson in 1801. It w^as this Samuel 
Stephenson wdio married the sister of Stephen 
Long-fellow, the father of the poet. The elder 
Stephenson lived in the tiirce storied gambrel 
roofed house next door. 

Between these two houses was a large yard, 
which was afterwards used as a ship yard by one 
Lemuel Dyer, and in wliicli was built and 
finished and was launched during the early part 
of the nineteenth century, several vessels, among 
which, if they did not carry out the expectations 
of their builders, there were two, at least, that 
bore distinguished names, — "The General W'ar- 
ren" and "The Commodore Preble." 

T liave no doubt that some one of the many 
launchings that were then occurring in and about 
Portland, was the ins|)iration of that beautiful 
poem to which Longfellow gave the name, "The 
Biiildiiii^ of the Ship," for there were shipyards 




OLD FIRST PARISH MEKTING-HOUSE 

WHICH LONGFELLOW ATTENDED WHEN A CHILD 



The Youth and Aspirations of Longfellow 35 

at many points along the harbor front, and no 
less than fourteen vessels are said to have been 
on the ways at one time in the old shipyard at 
Stroudwater alone. In -fact, there averaged 
during the year 1816 a launching every ten days 
from the various shipyards of Portland. The 
poem may, however, have had its first inception 
on the occasion of the poet's memorable visit to 
Portland, when, as the steamer on which he was 
coming from Boston, sailed into the harbor, he 
was just in time to see a ship being launched. 

The poem was written some time after this 
fact was noted in the poet's journal under date 
of July 15, 1847. 

Who is there among us who is not familiar 
with the lines beginning, 

And at the word, 

Loud and sudden there was heard. 

All around them and below. 

The sound of hammers, blow on blow, 

Knocking away the shores and spurs. 

And see ! she stirs ! 

She starts, — she moves, — she seems to feel 



36 The Youthful Haunts of Longfelloio 

The thrill of life along her keel, 

And, spurning with her foot the ground, 

With one exulting, joyous bound, 

She leaps into the ocean's arms! 

And lo ! from the assembled crowd 
There rose a shout, prolonged and loud, 
That to the ocean seemed to say, 
"Take her, O bridegroom, old and gray, 
Take her to thy protecting arms, 
With all her youth and all her charms !" 

How beautiful she is! How fair 

She lies within those arms, that i~)ress 

Her form with many a soft caress 

Of tenderness and watchful care ! 

Sail forth into the sea, O ship ! 

Through wind and wave, right onward steer ! 

The moistened eye, the trembling lip, 

Are not the signs of doubt or fear. 

Sail forth into the sea of life, 
O gentle, loving, trusting wife. 
And safe from all adversity 
Upon the bosom of that sea 
Thy comings and thy goings be ! 
I-'or gentleness and love and trust 
Prevail o'er angry wave and gust ; 



The Youth and Aspirations of Longfellow 37 

And in the wreck of noble lives 
Something immortal still survives. 

Thou, too, sail on, O Ship of State ! 

Sail on, O Union, strong- and great ! 

Humanity with all its fears. 

With all the hopes of future years, 

Is hanging breathless on thy fate ! 

We know what Master laid thy keel, 

What Workmen wrought thy ribs of steel. 

Who made each mast, and sail, and rope. 

What anvils rang, what hammers beat, 

In what a forge and what a heat 

Were shaped the anchors of thy hope ! 

Fear not each sudden sound and shock, 

"Tis of the wave and not the rock; 

'Tis but the flapping of the sail, 

And not a rent made by the gale ! 

In spite of rock and tempest's roar, 

In spite of false lights on the shore. 

Sail on, nor fear to breast the sea ! 

Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee, 

Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears, 

Our faith triumphant o'er our fears. 

Are all with thee, — are all with thee ! 

Market Square had also undergone a marvel- 
ous change during the poet's absence from home. 



38 The YoutJiful Haunts of Longfellow 

Many of the old shacks had been torn down and 
substantial three storied brick blocks had been 
Iniilt in their stead. 

During- the winter of 1825 had been erected 
the old Market Hall or City Hall as it was after- 
wards called. A miniature model of this old 
structure, which was afterwards demolished to 
make way for the Soldiers' ]\Ionument, may be 
seen near the center of Deering Park to-day, 
perched on top of one of the original columns 
that adorned its facade. 

The tablet on the front of this Ionic column 
reads as follows : — 

Above is a model of 

MARKET HALL built in 

IS"^.") from which this 

Column was taken 

When it was removed 

from the sjiot now 

occupied by the 

SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' 

MONUMENT 

Here, at the old mansion on Congress Street, 
then Main Street, Longfellow wrote, in addition 



The Youth and Aspirations of Longfellow 41 

to the "Song" quoted above, "Musings," the 
"Song of the Birds," "Autumn" and "The Burial 
of Minnisink." The last two of these he con- 
sidered worthy of reproducing in his published 
"Poetical Works." He says of them : — 

"These poems were written for the most part 
during my college life, and all of them before 
the age of nineteen. Some have found their 
way into schools, and seem to be successful. 
Others lead a vagabond and precarious existence 
in the corners of newspapers ; or have changed 
their names and run away to seek their fortune 
beyond the sea. I say, with the Bishop of 
Avranches on a similar occasion : T cannot be 
displeased to see these children of mine, which 
I have neglected, and almost exposed, brought 
from their wanderings in lanes and alleys, and 
safely lodged, in order to go forth into the world 
together in a more decorous garb.' " 

Two quatrains from his poem, "Autumn," will 
suffice to show the quality of his verse at this 
time, as well as the lesson which he never failed 
to convey, though never obtrusively, to his 
readers. 



42 The Youthful Hatitiis of Longfellow 

Witli what a glory comes and goes the year ! 
The buds of spring, those beautiful harbingers 
Of sunny skies and cloudless times, enjoy 
Life's newness, and earth's garniture spread out 



O what a glory doth this world put on 
For him who, with a fervent heart, goes forth 
Under the bright and glorious sky, and looks 
On duties well performed, and days well spent ! 

in April, 1S2G, we find the poet leaving Port- 
land for a European journey to prepare himself 
for the position of Professorship of modern 
languages to which he had been appointed at 
Bowdoin. 

In September, 1831, after having spent three 
years in France, Spain, Italy and Germany, 
studying the languages and literature of those 
countries as he went along, we find him at 
IJrunswick entering upon his new duties. In 
the early fall of 1831, at the age of twenty-four 
years, he was married to Mary Storer Potter, 
second daughter of his father's friend and neigh- 
bor. Judge liarrett Potter. 




THE FIRST PARISH CHURCH 

ERECTED ON SITE OF OLD MEETING-HOUSB 



The Youth and Aspirations of Longfellow 45 

Mary Potter was one of the belles of the old 
town, which then as now was noted for its 
beautiful women. She was a member of the 
social circle in which the Longfellows moved, 
was highly educated, of pleasing personality and 
sweet temperament, possessed a mind of unusual 
power ; and was in every way a fit companion for 
the talented young professor. Longfellow, it will 
be remembered, in his trip abroad, had mastered 
several languages so that he was able not only 
to read them, but to speak them fluently as well. 
Miss Potter was also proficient in several lan- 
guages and was especially gifted in mathematics. 
It is said that she could calculate eclipses and 
was well versed in metaphysics. With her 
thoughtful blue eyes under a mass of rich dark 
hair she was said to have been lovely alike in 
body as well as mind. 

Her character was no less beautiful than her 
person, and with a gentle and attractive disposi- 
tion she made a most delightful impression on 
Brunswick society. 

They were a tenderly devoted couple and be- 
lieved and lived up to their belief that "home- 



46 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

keeping hearts arc happiest." Longfellow writes 
of the little elm sequestered house on Federal 
Street in which they went to housekeeping: — 

"June 23. I can almost fancy myself in Spain, 
tile morning is so soft and beautiful. The tessel- 
lated shadow of the honeysuckle lies motionless 
upon my study floor, as if it were a figure in the 
carpet ; and through the open window comes the 
fragrance of the wild brier and the mock orange. 
The birds are carolling in the trees, and their 
shadows flit across the window as they dart to 
and fro in the sunshine ; while the murmur of 
the bee, the cooing of doves from the eaves, and 
the whirring of a little humming-bird that has 
its nest in the honeysuckle, send up a sound of 
joy to meet the rising sun." 

Their life in I'runswick was as ideal as one 
could imagine; and wc have among the home 
lives of the famous men in literature no more 
pleasing example of love and devotion tlian 
theirs. One can imagine this young couple full 
of the enthusiasm of youth entering upon their 
housekeeping with real joy while 



The Youth and Aspirations of Longfellow 47 

"Upon the polished silver shine 
The evening lamps, but, more divine. 
The light of love shines over all ; 
Of love, that says not mine and thine. 
But ours, for ours is thine and mine. 
They want no guests, to come between 
Their tender glances like a screen. 
And tell them tales of land and sea. 
And whatsoever may betide 
The great, forgotten world outside ; 
They want no guests ; they needs must be 
Each other's own best company." 

These were busy days for the young professor 
and his bride, and during this time Longfellow 
saw the city of his birth only during his vacation 
periods. 

In April, 1835, Longfellow and his wife sailed 
for Europe, and while traveling there Airs. 
Longfellow was taken ill at Rotterdam, Holland, 
and on the twenty-ninth day of November she 
died. 

For several months Mr. Longfellow continued 
his travels through Europe, but nothing could 
dispel the gloom which had been cast over him 
by this sad event. 



48 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

Four years later he commemorated the wife 
of his youth iu tlie beautiful poem, entitled, "The 
Footsteps of Angels," the last five stanzas of 
which are quoted below : — 

''And with them the Being Beauteous, 
Who unto my youth was given, 

More than all things else to love me. 
And is now a saint in heaven. 

"With a slow- and noiseless footstep 
Comes that messenger divine. 

Takes a vacant chair beside me. 
Lays her gentle hand in mine. 

"And she sits and gazes at me, 
W^ith those deep and tender eyes. 

Like the stars, so still and saint-like, 
Looking downward from the skies. 

"Uttered not, yet comprehended, 
Is the spirit's voiceless prayer, 

Soft rebukes, in blessings ended, 
Breathing from her lips of air. 

"O, though oft depressed and lonely 

All my fears are laid aside, 
If I but remember only 

Such as these have lived and died." 




HOUSE IN WHICH THE PARENTS OF THE POET FIRST 
WENT HOUSEKEEPING 

OPPOSITE FIRST PARISH CHURCH, PORTLAND, MAINE 



The Youth and Aspirations of Longfellow 49 

One night many years after, and after a day 
of intense suffering, the poet lay awake unable 
to sleep. He writes in his diary, "At night, as 
I lie in bed a poem comes into my mind, — a 
memory of Portland, my native town, the city 
by the sea. 

Siede la terra dove nato fui 
Sulla marina." 

This quotation from Dante translated means, 

Sitteth the city wherein I was born 
Upon the seashore. 

Under date of the 30th he makes a note to 
the effect that he has written the poem and has 
brought in two lines of the old Lapland Song, 

"A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 

With the death of Mary Potter Longfellow 
came the passing of Longfellow's youth, his lost 



50 The Youthful Hnurits of Longfellow 

youth, which he has immortahzed in one of his 
sweetest poems. 

It is not the purpose of this work to tell of 
Longfellow's life in Cambridge, else we might 
say something of the succeeding years, and of 
the beautiful and acconii)lished woman, who 
seven years later became Longfellow's second 
wife, and of their happy life together with their 
three children, "grave Alice, Edith of the golden 
hair, and laughing Alegra." 

Nor is it the ])urpose of this little book to tell 
of the heartbreaking tragedy that snatched the 
companion in his maturer years from his side in 
the prime of his ripening manhood. 

The story of Longfellow's after life we will 
leave to his biographers and content ourselves 
with the history of his youth and of his life in 
the "city by the sea." 




ZILPAH WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 

MOTHER OF HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW 



"MY LOST YOUTH 



I 



/^FTEN I think of the beautiful town 

That is seated by the sea ; 
Often in thought go up and down 
The pleasant streets of that dear old town, 
And my youth comes back to me. 
And a verse of a Lapland song 
Is haunting my memory still : 
" A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



54 



II 



I CAN see the shadowy lines of its trees, 

And catch, in sudden gleams, 
The sheen of the far-surrounding seas, 
And islands that were the Hesperides 
Of all my boyish dreams. 

And the burden of that old song, 
it murmurs and whispers still : 
"A boys will is the wind's will. 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



56 



in 



I REMEMBER the black wharves and the slips, 

And the sea-tides tossing free ; 
And Spanish sailors with bearded lips, 
And the beauty and mystery of the ships. 
And the magic of the sea. 

And the voice of that wayward song 
Is singing and saying still : 
" A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



58 



IV 



I REMEMBER the bulwarks by the shore. 

And the fort upon the hill; 
The sunrise gun, with its hollow roar 
The drum-beat repeated o'er and o'er. 
And the bugle wild and shrill. 
And the music of that old song 
Throbs in my memory still : 
" A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



60 



I REMEMBER the sea-fight far away, 

How it thundered o'er the tide ! 
And the dead captains, as they lay 
In their graves, oeriooking the tranquil bay. 
Where they in battle died. 

And the sound of that mournful song 
Goes through me with a thrill : 
"A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



62 



VI 



I CAN see the breezy dome of groves, 

The shadows of Deering's Woods ; 
And the friendships old and the early loves 
Come back with a sabbath sound, as of doves 
In quiet neighborhoods. 
And the verse of that sweet old song. 
It flutters and murmurs still : 
"A boy's will is the wind's will. 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



64 



VII 



I REMEMBER the gleams and glooms that dart 

Across the school-boy's brain ; 
The song and the silence in the heart, 
That in part are prophecies, and in part 
Are longings wild and vain. 

And the voice of that fitful song 
Sings on, and is never still : 
"A boys will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



66 



VIII 



T'HERE are things of which I may not speak ; 

There are dreams that cannot die; 
There are thoughts that make the strong heart 

weak, 
And bring a pallor into the cheek, 
And a mist before the eye. 

And the words of that fatal song 
Come over me like a chill : 
" A boy's will is the wind's will. 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



68 




'STRANGE TO UE NOW ARE THE FORMS I MEET' 

MIDDLE STREET IN 1866. JUST BEFORE THE (iREAT FIRE 



IX 



CTRANGE to me now are the forms I meet 

When 1 visit the dear old town ; 
But the native air is pure and sweet. 
And the trees that o'ershadow each well- 
known street, 
As they balance up and down, 
Are singing the beautiful song, 
Are sighing and whispering still : 
"A boy's will is the wind's will, 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



70 



X 



AND Deering's Woods are fresh and fair, 

And with joy that is almost pain 
My heart goes back to wander there, 
And among the dreams of the days that were, 
I find my lost youth again. 

And the strange and beautiful song, 
The groves are repeating it still : 
" A boy's will is the wind's will. 
And the thoughts of youth are long, long 
thoughts." 



72 



"THE SEA FIGHT FAR AWAY" 



"THE SEA FIGHT FAR AWAY" 

NEAR the foot of Munjoy's Hill and sur- 
rounded on three sides by busy streets, 
and on the other by the playground of 
the old North School, is the oldest burying 
ground in Portland. 

This ancient place of interment, known as the 
Eastern Cemetery, contains all that remains of 
many an old resident of the Forest City, and 
here and there among its rude head-stones may 
be found family names that are distinguished in 
the old town. 

But among all the many tombstones, without 
doubt, the interest of the passing throng centers 
on those bearing the names of Lieutenant 
\Mlliam Burrows, sometime commander of the 
American Brig Enterprise, and his adversary, 
Capt. Samuel Blyth of the British Brig Boxer, 
both of whom were killed in that famous naval 
battle off the Maine coast in September, 1813. 
This fight, which occurred when Longfellow was 
but six years old, made a deep impression on the 



8o The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

youthful mind of the poet, and is tlie "sea fight 
far away" to which he refers in the fifth stanza 
of his. "My Lost Youth." 

The war of 1812, be it remembered, was 
brought on by England's arrogant insistence in 
boarding American vessels, and taking away 
American sailors, or any other sailors for that 
matter, that her naval officers saw fit, by merely 
claiming that they were English subjects. 

It was necessary to put a stop to this practice 
in its incipiency, and the Enterprise with several 
other vessels were fitted out with crews and 
armament to look out for English privateers. 
Lieutenant William Burrows, who had served 
with Preble in the Constitution in the war with 
Tripoli, was put in command of the l*2ntcrprise, 
and on Sept. 5, 1813, engaged in battle with llie 
Boxer. The vessels had hardly sighted each 
other when the stars and stripes were run to the 
top of each mast head of the American Brig, 
while the Union Jack was flung to the breeze 
from each topma.st of the Britisher. 

The story of what followed is so well told in 
Lieutenant F. Stanhope Hill's admirable mono- 



'■'■The Sea Fight Far Away'''' 8i 

graph, entitled, "The Lucky Little Enterprise," 
that the writer has taken the liberty of quoting 
directly from it. 

"While the two vessels were standing out, the 
Enterprise leading. Lieutenant Burrows directed 
that one of the long nines should be brought aft 
and run out of a stern port in the poop cabin. 
As it was found that some of the fixtures inter- 
fered with getting- a proper elevation on the gun, 
the Captain called the carpenter with his broad 
axe to cut away the woodwork. This attracted 
the attention of the crew, many of whom had 
been in the Enterprise for some time, and they 
got the idea that Burrows was arranging to run 
from the Englishman and use the stern chaser 
in defense. It was not until the first lieutenant 
relieved their minds on this point by the promise 
of a speedy fight with the enemy, that entire 
harmony was restored. 

"x^t 3 p. M. Burrows, having completed his 
preparations, shortened sail, tacked, and edged 
away toward the Boxer, the two vessels ap- 
proaching on different tacks. At 3.20, they both 



82 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

kept away, and as they ranged alongside, the 
Enterprise opened with her starboard and the 
Boxer with her port guns. The Enterprise drew 
ahead, keeping up her fire, and as she passed the 
Boxer's bow the helm was put a-starboard and 
she sheered across the Englishman's fore-foot, 
delivering the fire of the long nine, which had 
been run out of the cabin window, twice at half 
pistol shot distance, wdth telling effect. 

"The Boxer then kept away and drew up on 
the quarter of the Enterprise, both vessels ex- 
changing broadsides, but the American brig, 
keeping ahead of the antagonist, again sheered 
across the Boxer's fore-foot, and raked her with 
the long nine. At this time the Englishman's 
maintopmast came down, bringing with it the 
topsail yard, and the Enterprise holding her 
position continued the raking fire. 

"Very early in the action Lieutenant Burrows 
had been mortally wounded by a musket ball, 
but the brave fellow had refused to be taken be- 
low, and throughout the action he was stretched 
on deck with a hammock beneath his head. As 
he fell, he cried to his first lieutenant, 'Never 
strike that flag!' 



'■'■The Sea Fight Far Away'''' 83 

"Lieutenant Edward McCall, who assumed 
command, had never before been in action, but 
he proved fully equal to the occasion, and fought 
and manoeuvred the vessel with great skill. At 
4 p. M. the fire of the enemy ceased and a voice 
was heard hailing, 'We have surrendered.' 

" 'Why don't you haul down your colors ?' re- 
turned McCall, through his trumpet. 

" 'We can't, sir ; they are nailed to the mast,' 
was the reply. 

"A boat w^as lowered, and IMcCall, boarding 
the Boxer, found that her commander. Captain 
Samuel Blyth, had been killed at the first broad- 
side from the Enterprise, and that all in all the 
English had twenty-eight killed and fourteen 
wounded, while the Enterprise had but one killed 
and thirteen wounded, three of whom, however, 
died the next day. 

"Captain Blyth, who was a very gallant officer, 
equally noted for his gentleness and humanity, 
had been one of the pall-bearers a few weeks 
before in Halifax at the funeral of Captain 
Lawrence of the Chesapeake. Stimulated by the 
good fortune of Captain Broke of the Shannon, 



84 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

Blyth had sailed in the Boxer in search of the 
Enterprise, expressing- his determination to 'lead 
another Yankee into HaHfax harbor.' 

"When Lieutenant IMcCall returned to the 
Enterprise, he at once brought Blyth's sword to 
Burrows, who was still stretched out on deck 
where he had fallen. As the young commander 
grasped the sword in both his hands and pressed 
it to his breast, he murmured, 'I am satisfied.' 
Soon after his body was laid out in his own 
cabin, covered with the flag for which he had 
given up his life, 'a smile on his lips,' as one of 
the officers wrote to his wife. * * 

"On September 7, after the arrival of the 
Enterprise at Portland with her prize, the bodies 
of the two commanders were brought on shore 
in ten-oared barges, rowed at minute strokes by 
masters of ships, and accompanied by a pro- 
cession of almost all the barges and boats in the 
harbor. j\Iinute guns were fired from the ves- 
sels, the same military ceremony was performed 
over each body, and the procession moved 
through the streets, preceded by the selectmen 
and municipal officers, and guarded by the offi- 
cers and crew of the Enterprise and Boxer." 



''The Sea Fight Far Away'' 85 

The procession took up its order of march to 
"the Rev. Mr. Payson's meeting house, where 
rites of sepulchre were performed," after which 
it continued to the Eastern cemetery where the 
bodies of the two commanders were buried side 

by side. 

From an old book in the Willis collection at 
the Portland Public Library I found an account 
of the order of procession which was as 
follows : — 

Military Escort, 

Composed of a rifle company and two companies 

of infantry. 

Selectmen of Portland. 

Town Treasurer and Sheriff of the county. 

Town Clerk and other municipal officers. 

The Reverend Clergy. 

I^Ir. Le Sassier, ^ S Mr. Shields, 

Mr. O'Neil, | "S 2 Mr. Turner, 

Mr. Tillinghast, « Mr. M'Call. 

Chief ]\Iourners. 

Dr. Washington, Capt. Hull. 

Officers of the brig Enterprise. 

Crew of the brig Enterprise. 



86 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

Lemuel Weeks, jun. ^ _. \\'illiam Merrill, 

Seth Barnes, I o !> James Coombs, 

Joshua Knights, " John Alden. 

Officers of the brig Boxer, as mourners, 

and officers on Parole. 

Crew of the brig Boxer. 

Officers of the United States Navy. 

Ship Masters and Alates. 

Marshall of Maine. 

Navy Agent, and 

The late Consul General to the Barbary Powers. 

Collector of the Port, and Surveyor. 

Superintendent General of j\Iilitary Supplies. 

Officers of the Army of the United States. 

Military Officers of the state, in uniform. 

Judges, and other Civil Officers of the United 

States. 

Members of Congress. 

Judiciary of the Commonwealth. 

Alembers of the State Legislature. 

Civil Officers of the State. 

Portland JMarinc Society. 

Presidents, Directors, and Officers of the Banks, 

and Insurance Offices. 

Citizens in general. 



"■The Sea Fight Far Away'" 87 

From the same : 

"The funeral was attended with all the 
honours that the civil and military authorities of 
the place, and the great body of people could 
bestow. The whole scene was strikingly im- 
pressive. The bells were tolled, and two com- 
panies of artillery fired minute guns, which were 
repeated from forts Preble and Scammel. 

"Lieut. Burrows was a young man of un- 
common worth. He was the son of Col. Bur- 
rows, of South Carolina, formerly of the marine 
corps. He lived with honour and died with 
glory. By his early death his country has lost 
an able commander, and his two surviving sis- 
ters, a brother, whose excellencies they will never 
cease to remember. He was intelligent, intrepid, 
generous and humane. He was ambitious to 
add lustre to the American navy, and eagerly 
rushed into a combat, which issued in a signal 
victory over a superior force." 

Side by side in the cemetery under the hill, 
are the graves of the three brave young officers 
who fought so gallantly on that September after- 
noon, Capt. Samuel Blyth of the Boxer, and 
Lieut. William Burrows and Lieut. Kerwin 
Waters of the Enterprise. The inscription on 
Capt. Blyth's monument is as follows : — 



88 The Youthful Haunts of Longjellow 

In ^Memory 

of 

Captain Samuel Blyth 

late Commander 

of 

His liritannic Majesty's Brig Boxer. 

He nobly 'fell 

On the -jth day of September 1813 

In action 

With the U. S. Brig Enterprise, 

In life Honourable. 

In death glorious. 

His Country \yill long deplore one of her brayest 

sons, 
His friends long lament one of the best of men. 
/Et. 2!) 

The suryiying officers of his crew offer this 
feeble tribute of admiratiiMi and respect. 

while that on Lieut. Burrows' reads : 



Beneath this Stone 

moulders 

the body 

of 

WILLIAM r.URROWS 

late commander 

of the 

United States Brig Enterprise 

who was mortally wounded 

on the r>th of Sept. 1813 



'■'■The Sea Fight Far Away" 89 

in an action which contributed 

to increase the fame of 

American valor, by capturing 

his Britannic Majesty's 

Brig Boxer 

after severe contest of 

forty-five minutes. 

Mt. 28 

A passing- stranger has erected this 

monument of respect to the name of 

a patriot, who in the hour of peril 

obeyed the loud summons of an injured 

country, and who gallantly met, 

fought and conquered 

the foeman. 

The monument to Lieut. Kerwin Waters on 
which is engraved a fitting tribute to his memory, 
bears the statement that it was erected to him 
"by the young men of Portland." 

Such was the battle that stirred up the inhabi- 
tants of those early days and gave Portland a 
place in the history of the last war we ever had 
with Great Britain. It was the decisive naval 
battle of the war of 1812 and Congress had 
a medal struck in honor of its hero, the 
young Commander of the Enterprise, Lieutenant 
William Burrows. 



9© The YoutJiful Haunts of Longfellow 

One of the flags of the old Enterprise now 
rests in a glass cabinet in one of the upper cham- 
bers of the Wadsworth-Longfellow House on 
Congress Street in Portland, where it is seen by 
thousands of summer visitors annually. It is 
said to be the second oldest American flag in 
existence. Its dingy colors give no hint of its 
former brightness of hue on that bright Sep- 
tember afternoon, when it was flung to the 
breeze in all its glory. Its crimson is dulled 
by time and by smoke of battles, but it is all the 
more sacred because of its associations and no 
matter what its condition, it is the "stars and 
stripes forever." 

For the benefit of those who are interested the 
official account of the battle is here appended: 

OFFICIAL ACCOUNT 
UNITED STATES BRIG ENTERPRISE 

Portland, Sept. 7, 1813. 
Sir: — 

In consequence of the unfortunate death of 
Lieut. William Burrows, late commander of this 
vessel, it devolves on me to acquaint you with 
the result of the cruise. After sailintr from 



'■'^The Sea Fight Far Away'''' 91 

Portsmouth on the 1st iiist., we steered to the 
eastward, and on the morning of the 3rd, off 
Wood Island, discovered a schooner which we 
chased into this harbor, where we anchored. On 
the morning of the 4th, weighed anchor and 
swept out and continued our course to the east- 
ward. Having received information of several 
privateers being off Manhagan we stood for that 
place ; and on the following morning in the bay 
near Penguin Point, discovered a brig getting 
underway, which appeared to be a vessel of war, 
and to which we immediately gave chase. She 
fired four guns and stood for us, having four 
ensigns hoisted. After reconnoitering and dis- 
covering her force and the nation to which she 
belonged, we hauled into the wind to stand out 
of the bay, and at three o'clock shortened sail, 
tacked to run down, with an intention to bring 
her to close action. At twenty minutes after 
three p. m., when within half pistol shot, the 
firing commenced from both, and after being 
warmly kept up and with some manoeuvering the 
enemy hailed and said she had surrendered. It 
would be doing injustice to the merit of Mr. 
Tillinghast, 2nd Lieut., were I not to mention 
the able assistance I received from him during 
the remainder of the engagement, by his strict 
attention to his own division and other depart- 
ments, and of the officers and crew generally, I 
am happy to add, their cool and determined con- 
duct have my warmest approbation and applause. 
As no muster roll that can be fully relied on 
has come into my possession, I cannot exactly 
state the number killed and wounded on board 



92 The Youtlifiil Haunts of Longfellow 

the Boxer, but from about 4 v. m. their colors 
being- nailed to the masts, could not be hauled 
down. She proved to be his Britanic Majesty's 
Brig Boxer, of fourteen guns. Samuel Blyth, 
Esq., commander, who fell in the early part of 
the engagement, having received a cannon shot 
through the body, and I am sorry to add, that 
Lieut. Burrows, who had gallantly led us into 
action, fell also about the same time, by a musket 
ball which terminated his existence in eight 
hours. 

The Enterprise suffered much in spars, rigging 
and hull, having many shots between wind and 
water. Information received from the officers 
of the vessel, it appears there were between 
twenty and thirty-five killed and fourteen 
wounded. 

Enclosed is a list of the killed and wounded 
on board the Enterprise. I have the honor to 
be, etc., 

Edward R. McCall, 

Senior Officer. 

Isaac Hull, 

Commanding Naval Offieer on the Eastern 
Statio)i. 



The battle between the Enterprise and Boxer 
has never been accorded the place in history that 
it deserves. The principle involved and decided 
by this engagement, the skillfulness and un- 
daunted braverv and heroism of those engaged 



" The Sea Fight Far Away " 93 

in the combat, have been overshadowed by the 
more conspicuous events and incidents of those 
stirring times ; and yet it is hard to find among 
the naval movements in the history of the times 
a single engagement that gave to our country 
more fruitful results. 

Let us when we visit the graves of these com- 
manders, who fell in opposing causes, remember 
that each fought for his country and that it is 
to such as Burrows and other patriots of his day 
that we owe the existence and independence of 
our great republic. 



HIGHFIELD 



"HIGHFIELD" 

OUT on what was sometime known as 
the Saccarappa Road, at the top of a 
high hill overlooking the city of Port- 
land, formerly stood, in the middle of a broad 
field, a quaint old house painted yellow and of 
the style of construction known as the "story and 
a half" type. Its walls were covered with pine 
clapboards, its heavy overhanging eaves gave it 
a look of singularly good proportion, and its 
wide trimmings of the colonial style put it down 
for the period of ante bellum architecture. 

The house set well back from the main road, 
and like all desirably situated houses of that 
period it faced the south, or to be more exact, 
the southwest. 

In front of its wide portico, for in those days 
the house had no piazza, stood three tall trees 
as straight and as perfectly tapering as if they 
had been trained from seedlings. 

The middle one, a giant spruce, so tall that its 
apex could be easily distinguished above the sur- 
rounding tree tops from any of the vantage 

L ore 



loo The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

points in the city, was flanked on either side by a 
nearly as tall, and an equally graceful tamarack. 

It was a custom in early New England days to 
plant three trees in front of the spot marked out 
for the habitation of the owner; but why, I have 
never been able to ascertain, though I have often 
thought that owing to the superstitions of the 
times it w^as as a sign to bring good luck or 
possibly to keep witches away. The house 
seemed to be planted in the midst of a wild 
tangle of crimson and yellow ramblers, flowering 
grape vines and profusely blooming sweet- 
scented white lilac trees. 

From its huge windows on its easterly side 
could be seen the tall spires of the meeting 
houses "in town," the observatory on the hill, 
and various other buildings that loomed up above 
the green dome of Deering's woods which lay 
between this antiquated house and the city. From 
these windows also could easily be seen, above 
the dip in the sky line of Portland, the blue of 
the waters of Casco Bay and the masts and spars 
of various incoming and outgoing craft in the 
harbor bcvond. 




THE "WASHINGTON ELM 

AT '■ HIGHFIELD " 



'' Highfield'' 103 

On account of its elevated position as well as 
the nature of the land that surrounded it, the 
house was first called by the poet, Henry W. 
Longfellow, by the appropriate name of "High- 
field." 

Such was the home of Alexander Longfellow, 
the brother of the poet, and such was the place 
which Longfellow visited many a time in his 
annual vacations to Portland. It was one of the 
poet's favorite spots, — a place where he could 
always find rest. In truth, that one could always 
sleep at Highfield, was and always has been 
traditional. 

Longfellow loved this spot, and in the year 
1852 he cut from the Washington Elm in Cam- 
bridge a slip of that famous tree and sent it to 
his brother, Alexander, to be planted at High- 
field. That this tree was carefully nurtured by 
the former master of Highfield, its straight 
growth and healthy appearance give ample evi- 
dence. 

It was not until sometime- after the writer had 
purchased Highfield, that he learned of the ex- 
istence of this historic tree, and then, because of 



I04 The Youthful Haunts of Lotigfelloui 

there being several sizable elms on the place, it 
was necessary to know precisely which was the 
one with the history. 

In order to ascertain the facts, a visit to the 
brother of the poet, who then resided on South 
Street, was made. This visit was just prior to 
the death of Alexander Longfellow and was full 
of interest. The poet's brother loved the old 
place. I believe the last drive he took (a few 
days later) was to look at Highfield and its 
historic elm. I remember well the solicitude 
with which he inquired about the tree and asked 
that it should be always carefully guarded, for 
Highland Street had but recently been cut 
through to Brighton Avenue, and so close did it 
come to the street line that it was found neces- 
sary in grading the sidewalk to cut away some 
of the root branches : and in fact it had been with 
a great deal of difficulty that an over zealous 
representative of the city's street department, 
armed with his petty authority, had been dis- 
suaded from his original purpose of cutting so 
close as to permanently injure if not ruin the 
life of the tree. 



'' Highfield'' 105 

How much can be undone in almost a single 
moment by one unthinking person of destructive 
propensities, even to the taking away of the life 
of a thing another has spent half a century of 
love and labor in bringing to maturity ! 

It was but a short time after this visit that a 
suitable tablet was placed on this tree by the 
writer, after having been first submitted to the 
poet's brother for his approval. This tablet which 
marks the tree to-day reads as follows : 

THIS TREE 

A SCION OF THE 

WASHINGTON ELM 

IN CAMBRIDGE 

WAS SENT AS A SLIP 

BY THE POET 

HENRY W. LONGFELLOW 

TO HIS BROTHER 

AND PLANTED HERE 

BY HIM IN 

1852. 

That the view from Highfield was the inspira- 
tion of at least one of Longfellow's poems is a 
pleasant thing to record. In fact, it has been the 
inspiration of many other, though less gifted 



io6 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

persons, some of whom had not the art of ex- 
pression in verse. 

Standing on the site of this historic building-, 
and looking eastward over the "shadowy crown" 
of trees, one can readily believe that the verses 
by Longfellow to which he gave the title, 
"Changed," were inspired, if not actually written 
during one of the poet's visits to Highfield. 

The poem is here given in full : 

CHANGED 

From the outskirts of the town, 
Where of old the mile-stone stood, 

Now a stranger, looking down 

I behold the shadowy crown 
Of the dark and haunted wood. 

Is it changed, or am I changed ? 

Ah ! the oaks are fresh and green, 
But the friends with whom I ranged 
Through their thickets are estranged 

By the years that intervene. 

Bright as ever flows the sea, 

Bright as ever shines the sun. 
But alas ! they seem to me 



'' Highfield'' 107 

Not the sun that used to be, 
Not the tides that used to run ! 



Indeed, under date of August 28, 1800, he 
makes the following entry in his journal : 

"PORTLAND. This has become to me a 
land of ghosts and shadows. Within two years 
people have grown so much older, and so many 
have departed. Fessenden, I find buried in 
politics ; John Neal, a good deal tempered down, 
but fire enough still. Mrs. M — , my mother's 
friend, eighty years old, sitting in white, stone 
blind ! Drove to HighUcld in the morning and 
in the afternoon returned to Nahant." 

One can easily imagine from the entry of this 
date in the journal that the poet was filled with 
somber thoughts as he contemplated in his mind 
the changes that had been going on among his 
friends while his eyes gazed on the shadowy 
crown of the "dark and haunted wood," with the 
city and the sea beyond. The mile-stone, or the 
stone which marked the former boundary line of 
Portland, was within sight of Highfield. 



1 08 The } 'out hf III Haunts of Longfellow 

Dear old Ilig-hfield! After having withstood 
the storms of more than half a century, and after 
having outlived both its former master and his 
distinguished brother, it at last succumbed to 
that fiercest of the elements, fire. Its occupants 
were awakened one night by the sound of fire 
crackling within its walls and in a few hours it 
had been entirely consumed by the hungry flames. 
To-day nothing remains to mark the spot except 
the crumbling walls of its old cellar, the lilac 
bushes and vines running wild about the place ; 
the tall trio of sentinels that marked its location 
from distant points ; the scion of the old elm in 
Cambridge, and other stately though less historic 
trees that had been planted there by its former 
owner. 

Peace to its ashes ! 



THE VERANDAH — EVANGELINE 



THE VERANDAH— EVANGELINE 

OF all the places in the city by the sea that 
have been made sacred by memories of 
the poet Longfellow, perhaps none has 
retained more of its primitive loveliness or has 
parted with less of its old time appearance, than 
has the peninsula, where was formerly located 
the famous old hostelry known as "the Veran- 
dah," and on which is now standing the hand- 
some brick edifice erected by the L^nited States 
Government for a Marine Hospital. 

Here, unlike many of the spots that are 
hallowed by association, there is very little 
chang-e in the immediate environment of the 
scene. 

The birthplace of the poet, which formerly 
fronted on a beautiful beach is now surrounded 
by tall grain elevators, tumble down tenements 
and noisy engines of trade and industry. The 
home of his youth, once set among handsome 
residences, flowering gardens and growing oak 
trees with the soft wind sighing through their 
tops, is now keeping company with huge depart- 



114 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

ment stores and busy hostelries, while the clang, 
clang of the trolley cars, the noisy rattling of 
heavy drays over the cobbled pavements and the 
honk of the swishing automobiles fill the air. 
Even the one time shipyards that lined the har- 
bor have given way to the huge wharves and 
warehouses of the transatlantic steamships. 

But while the growth of the city is fast en- 
croaching upon the outskirts of the peninsula on 
which formerly stood this famous old hotel, the 
immediate surroundings are as yet unchanged. 
That the Verandah was, for the times, a famous 
"Watering Place." will be seen from an old ad- 
vertisement which is set forth below : 

THE VERANDAH 

At Oak Grove, two miles from Portland, 
Me., a new and Splendid Establishment, 
built expressly for a first class Hotel and 
Watering Place, is now opened for the 
season. 

It stands on a bold peninsula, bounded by 
Presumpscot River and by Casco Bay, whose 
liun(h"e(l green islands breaking the surface 
of the ocean waters, are fulling in sight. 



The Verandah — Evafigeline 117 

For natural beauty and richness and variety 
of scenery it is not surpassed. 

Omnibi and carriages at the depot and the 
steamboats to take passengers to the Veran- 
dah for 25c per seat. It is one of the most 
desirable places of resort in the country for 
the invalid, the lover- of fine scenery and 
pure air. 

J. Kingsbury. 

J. Kingsbury, it might be not out of place to 
state, was proprietor of the Old Elm Tavern, 
until 1847, when, in this year, he went forth to 
try his luck in the new "watering place." 

It was to this famous hotel that Longfellow 
was driven by Peter Bab in his famous omnibus, 
Mazzeppa, on the morning of July loth of the 
year of its opening, 1847. 

This Peter Bab, by the way, deserves more 
than passing mention, at least, Longfellow 
seemed to think so, for in an extract from 
his diary under date of July 28th, he gives a 
picturesque description of the little red- faced 
stage driver. 

If one has the opportunity to shake off for a 



ii8 Jlie Youthful Ilautits of Longfellow 

few hours the hurry which seems to be innocu- 
lated in all Americans of to-day, and can take 
with him a book to this lovely spot some sunny 
afternoon in July, he can appreciate more fully 
the poet's feelings as he sat dreaming- under the 
great oak trees of the \'erandah, unable to read, — 
overcome by the "seaside drowsiness and dreami- 
ness" which stole over him. 
Here is what he says of it : 

"(July) IGth (1847). * * * I sat gazing 
at the silvery sea and the crowd of sails making 
seaward or landward in the offing, between the 
mainland and the islands. Birds were singing 
all about, strange sound by the sea. * * * 

"ISth. How lovely the view of the harbor, 
the pearly sea with its almost irresistible attrac- 
tion drawing me into it. A whole fleet of vessels 
in the horizon, looking in the vapory distance like 
the spires and towers of a great city. Bathed 
before breakfast in the sea. 

"The rain is over, the tide is rising. One by 
one the banks of sea-shells and the brown weed- 
covered rocks have disappeared, and the ships 



The Verandah — Evangeline 119 

have sailed away from the mouth of the harbor, 
and the city by the sea has sunk into its depths. 

^ ^ ;|c >ic 

"19th. * * * walked out again over the 
bridge and across the fields. Found a lovely site 
for a house. At sunset walked on the bridge 
with F. Saw the fish leap out, and the scream- 
ing king-fishers shoot under the bridge and away 
seaward. The gurgling of the tide among the 
wooden piers was the only other sound. Coming 
back through the grove, we heard the evening 
gun from the fort ; and the islands seized the 
sound and tossed it further and further off, till 
it died away in a murmur. 

"23d. This harbor mouth is always a charm- 
ing sight to me ; the gateway of the sea. * * * 

"Drove * "^^ after tea, in the sunset ; a love- 
ly daylight and moonlight mingling. Walked 
on the bridge with F. — A fat man fishing for 
cunners, and sundry sculpins giving up the ghost 
in the moon. We leaned for a while on the 
wooden rail, and enjoyed the silvery reflection 
on the sea, making sundry comparisons. Among 
other thoughts we had this cheering one, — that 



I20 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

the whole sea was flashing- with this heavenly 
light, though we saw it only in a single track ; 
the dark waves are the dark providences of God ; 
luminous though not to us ; and even to ourselves 
in another position. '•' * * 

"31st. * * * * It has been raining all 
day. Now it holds up, and tiie heavy sea-mist 
rolls away. The tide is low. White sea-gulls 
sitting on the flats wdth a long reflection there- 
in. Sunset like a conflagration. Walk on the 
bridge, both ends of which are lost in the fog 
like human life midway between two eternities ; 
beginning and ending in mist." 

This visit, while full of rest and enjoyment to 
the poet, was not given over wholly to recreation, 
for while here he revised and corrected the proof 
sheets of a large part of Evangeline. 

Among the many entries in his journal at this 
time are these lines which were inspired by the 
tides flowing under Martin's Point Bridge, near 
the Verandah. I do not find them in his pub- 
lished works, though they are printed in his 
journal under date of August 18th. This might 
be called distinctly a Portland poem and could 
be proi)crly named, "The Tides." 



The Verandah — Evangeline 121 

THE TIDES 

"O faithful, indefatigable tides, 

That evermore upon God's errands go, — 

Now seaward, bearing tidings of the land, 

Now landward, bearing tidings of the sea, — 

And filling every frith and estuary, 

Each arm of the great sea, each little creek. 

Each thread and filament of water-courses. 

Full with your ministration of delight! 

Under the rafters of this wooden bridge, 

I see you come and go ; sometimes in haste 

To reach your journey's end, which being done 

With feet unrested ye return again 

And re-commence the never-ending task ; 

Patient, whatever burdens ye may bear, 

And fretted only by the impeding rocks." 

Gone is the "Verandah," with its old associa- 
tions ; gone, too, alas, the poet who gave to the 
world so much; but always will run the "inde- 
fatigable tides," and always will live in the hearts 
of those who read the sweet and enduring verses 
of the poet, the love for the Meistersinger. 



THE ROPEWALK AND KERAMOS 



THE ROPEWALK AND KERAMOS 

"In that building, long and low, 
With its windows all a-row, 

Like the port-holes of a hulk. 
Human spiders spin and spin. 
Backward down their threads so thin 

Dropping, each a hempen bulk. 

"At the end, an open door ; 
Squares of sunshine on the floor 

Light the long and dusky lane ; 
And the whirring of a wheel. 
Dull and drowsy, makes me feel 

All its spokes are in my brain. 

"As the spinners to the end 
Downward go and reascend. 

Gleam the long threads in the sun ; 
While within this brain of mine 
Cobwebs brighter and more fine 

By the busy wheel are spun." 



SUCH is the picture of the old ropewalk 
the poet has left us, and as he watches 
the spinners and listens to the drowsy 
whir of the wheel, he paints the scenes that 
come before his mind as in a dream. Two 
laughing maidens, clasping with gentle hands 



126 The Youthful Haunts of Long/eitow 

the twisted strands as they swing; the girl 
in spangled dress, with a "faded loveliness," 
poised aloft on the tight rope; the bare 
armed woman drawing water from the old 
farm well ; the old bell ringer in the tower, 
"ringing loud the noon-tide hour;" the hard, 
stern face of the criminal at the gallows-tree : the 
eager school-boy with his kite ; the full rigged 
ships sailing in the breeze or with anchors 
dragging through the sand : these are the scenes 
which the dreamer has not only dreamed himself, 
but of which he has given us a picture that we 
may behold as plainly as did he on the occasion 
of his visit to the old ropewalk. 

Just which of the old rcjpcwalks the i)oet wrote 
of is a mooted question. From various sources 
w^e learn of the location of the numerous rope- 
walks in the old town. From an old directory 
we have it that Morton & Trowbridge's rope- 
walk and candle factory, at 4()<S Congress Street, 
was destroyed by fire on the night of October 15, 
1844. The number 408 conveys nothing definite 
as to location as the old way of numbering has 
long been replaced by a much less antiquated 



The Ropewalk and Keramos 127 

system than originally existed. We learn, how- 
ever, that Horton & Trowbridge's ropewalk was 
located at what is now the West End, at or near 
the corner of Congress and Huntress Streets, a 
few hundred feet west of the present Union 
Station. From Elwell's Boys of Tliirty-fivc we 
learn of a twine factory or ropewalk then 
standing on Fore Street, while on a map of 
Portland, made in 183-i, the locations of two 
other rope walks are delineated : one at the foot 
of Parris Street and the other on the east side 
of Back Cove. The last ropewalk was known 
as "Hammond's Ropewalk," and was built in the 
early part of the nineteenth century. It was 
sold to Hammond by one Thomas Cross in 1825, 
and was destroyed by fire December 1, 184:7. It 
stood on the slope of the hill below the Westerly 
side of Washington Avenue and on the shore of 
Back Cove, nearly over to Tukey's Bridge. 

The process of making the ropes was extreme- 
ly interesting. The small ropes were spun by 
hand on the second story, while the hawsers or 
large ropes, such as were then in common use 
on sailing vessels for hoisting anchors, were 
twisted on the first floor by horse power. 



128 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

Yet another ropewalk and without doubt one 
of the most prosperous ones, was the one known 
as "Billy Gray's Ropewalk." This was probably 
one of the first to be erected in the old town and 
was owned by one William Gray of Boston, a 
Lieutenant Governor of ^Massachusetts, an offi- 
cer of considerable means and some repute. 

This building, "long' and low," extended along 
the westerly side of Park Street, formerly called 
Ann Street, from Congress to Gray Street, on 
the land now occupied by the Lafayette Hotel 
and the Park St. block. As this ropewalk is said 
to have been demolished in lS2i), when Spring 
Street was laid through the "Billy Gray lot," it 
is probable that Longfellow saw little of it unles.; 
it may have been in his youth. I find a refer- 
ence to yet another old ropewalk in Parson 
Dean's Journal, where, in a footnote to an entry 
under date of July 2, 1785, there is mention of 
one John Goodhue, who had a walk on Spring 
Street. This was before the poet's time, how- 
ever. 

It seems more likely that the ropewalk that in- 
spired the poem of that name, the adherents of 



The Ropewalk and Keramos 129 

the belief that it was the ropewalk at Charles- 
town, Mass., to the contrary, was the Hammond 
ropewalk near Tukey's Bridge, in Portland. As 
this building was not destroyed until the winter 
following Longfellow's visit to the Verandah 
and as it lay directly in the travelled road from 
the Verandah to Portland, it is likely that the 
poet honored this particular ropewalk with a 
visit on the occasion of one of his tramps to 
town, though we find by consulting his journal 
that the poem was not written until seven years 
later. 

The homely pictures which the poet presents 
in The Ropczcalk, are such scenes as the common 
people love. The simplicity of the poem appeals 
to the popular taste as well as to that of the more 
cultivated. 

In Keramos, we have one of Longfellow's 
most ambitious shorter poems. In direct con- 
trast to the poem we have been discussing, 
Keramos shows the scholarly side of the poet. 
Twenty-three years elapsed between the time 
The Ropczvalk was written (1854) and the time 
Keramos was produced (1877). These two 



1 3© The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

poems though similar in character, arc treated 
in widely different manner. Each takes a simple 
subject for its theme and proceeds to call be- 
fore the mind, ])ictures, pleasant and otherwise, 
of the uses to which the products of the subject 
treated are used ; the first, of the different uses 
to which hemp is put ; the second, of the different 
purposes for which clay is used. Sim]^licity is 
the keynote of The Ropcwalk, scholarly treat- 
ment, that of Kcramos. 

While there may have been some diversity of 
opinion as to the location of the building that 
suggested the verses called The Ropezealk, there 
is none as to the location of the old pottery which 
inspired "Keramos." 

At the head of T'otter's Lane, as it is still 
called, was located the old pottery of Jeremiah 
Dodge & Son. Like many another of the simple 
pursuits of a generation or two ago the Potter 
has been su])erseded by the Pottery, the Indi- 
vidual by the Corporation or Trust, and this 
simple and pleasing vocation which is almost as 
old as agriculture itself, is fast losing its poetic 
side bv the introduction of labor-savin"' ma- 



The Eopewalk and Keramos 1 3 i 

chinery. Primitive indeed were the methods of 
only one generation gone ! 

Keramos opens with the Potter singing at his 
wheel, and after a few lines of his song, follows 
this picture : 

"Thus sang the Potter at his task 

Beneath the blossoming hawthorn-tree. 

While o'er his features, like a mask. 

The quilted sunshine and leaf-shade 

Moved, as the boughs above him swayed, 

And clothed him, till he seemed to be 

A figure woven in tapestry. 

So sumptuously was he arrayed 

In that magnificent attire 

Of sable tissue flaked with fire. 

Like a magician he appeared, 

A conjurer without book or beard; 

And while he plied his magic art — 

For it was magical to me — 

I stood in silence and apart, 

And wondered more and more to see 

That shapeless, lifeless mass of clay 

Rise up to meet the master's hand, 

And now contract and now expand. 

And even his slightest touch obey ; 

W^hile ever in a thoughtful mood 



132 The Youthful Haunts of LoJig fellow 

He sang his ditty, and at times 
Whistled a tune betwen the rhymes, 
As a melodious interlude." 



Where once the Potter pedalled his whispering 
wheel and guided the shapes that rose to his 
hand, while the shadows of the hawthorne wove 
the "tapestried figures" on his homespun coat, 
and the odor of the blossoming tree filled the 
air with its sweet perfume, there remains little 
now to inspire one to such thoughts as the poet 
so beautifully expressed in Keramos, — for Pot- 
ter's Lane is now one of the streets in the city 
which one never visits except from necessity. 
There is hardly a street or lane in the old town 
to-day which is less inviting. ]lut let us stop 
for a moment to view it in imagination, at least, 
even though we do not care to linger on the spot 
where the old wheel once turned. 

Standing by the poet's side we see the Potter 
engaged in his daily task, and had we the poet's 
vision we might be transported with him to the 
foreign climes where the Potter's Art is exhibited 
at its best. 



The Ropezvalk and Keramos 133 

As the Potter sings, the poet sees in that "land 
of sluices, dikes and dunes," which comes before 
his mind, the "pretty town of Delft," where has 
been produced since 1310 that fascinating white 
ware with blue figures, wonderfully designed, 
and whose floors and walls are covered with be- 
figured tiles in the same unvarying colors ; and 
as the song of the Potter changes, so the mind 
of the poet reverts to that sunny land lying to 
the south, — France. Here at Saintes, the capital 
of the old province of Saintonge, on the river 
Charente, he sees the inspired Palissy moving 
heaven and earth and sacrificing his worldly 
goods and comforts to attain the wonderful 
glaze which now bears his name ; he, who, while 
he was striving for the great result, was scorned 
and despised as a fanatic, but who fortunately 
lived to be honored in his own lifetime. As 
Longfellow so beautifully expressed it, his was 

"the divine 
Insanity of noble minds. 
That never falters nor abates, 
But labors and endures and waits, 
Till all that it foresees it finds, 
Or what it cannot find creates !" 



134 The Youtlijul Haunts of Longfelhnv 

As the song chang-es again, the poet finds him- 
self transported to Spain, — to ^Majorca, one of 
the Balearic Isles, the home of the marvelous 
Majolica and Ra])Iiacl ware, noted tor its sim- 
plicity of coloring and beauty of design; and 
thence to the "land of Italy," where Gubbio 
wrought in royal tints to emulate the wonderful 
colorings of the Faience ware and the produc- 
tions of the potteries of Florence and Pesaro, 
and where Giorgio wove his designs Of "birds and 
fruit and flowers and leaves'' about the faces of 
beautiful women and lovely landscapes; and then 
to the Southern part of ancient Italy where in 
Apulia, the poet sees many of the wonderful 
vases and urns which have been dug from the 
earth on the site of this old Greek settlement on 
Roman shores. Rare and cherished are these 
products of this highly civilized colony. 

Again the song of the Potter changes and 
again the thoughts of Longfellow drift to the 
southward. This time to Egypt, that ancient 
land of antiquated and clumsy mechanical de- 
vices that can hardly be said to have attained the 
dignity of machinery. Here, he calls up the 



The Ropewalk and Keramos 135 

picture of a walled city with its mosques and 
minarets and sees the Potter with his rude con- 
trivance of a wheel turned by hand as in the 
days before Christianity began, working clumsily 
at vases of enormous size and ugly patterns. 

As the song changes again, he sees the town 
of King-te-chin, that wonderful Chinese city in 
the Kiang-se province, with its thousands of fur- 
naces, whose fragile though gorgeous ware, is 
found in every part of the globe. This once 
famous city of 500,000 population now lies in 
ruins, for King-te-chin, together with the 
famous porcelain tower of Nankin, were de- 
stroyed during the Tai ping insurrection. 

Here at King-te-chin was manufactured the 
familiar "willow ware" of our grandmother's 
days, on whose shiny surface, in Chinese art, 
sans perspective, is depicted the sorrowful tale 
of little Ko-ong-see and Chang, her lover, who 
came to a sad fate at the instigation of the 
wicked old mandarin. How many, I wonder, 
who have eaten from the old willow dinner 
plates, remember this once familiar story ! 

As the song changes for the last time, the 



136 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

dreamer sees Japan, whose brilliantly colored 
jars, vases and table ware, depict the scenes and 
figures so dear to the heart of the Japanese; 
Fujiyama, the sacred mountain; the sunset; the 
stork ; the heron ; and the crane : and as the 
dream ends, he muses, and the thoughts given 
out in the following lines seem to me to picture 
that secret of Longfellow's successful hold on 
the people, — Truth to nature. Here are his 
words, before the wheel stops turning: 

"He is the greatest artist, then. 

Whether of pencil or of pen. 

Who follows Nature. Never man. 

As artist or as artisan. 

Pursuing his own Fantasies, 

Can touch the human heart, or please 

Or satisfy our nobler needs. 

As he who sets his willing feet 

In Nature's footprints, light and fleet 

And follows fearless where she leads." 



LONGFELLOW ELMS" 



"LONGFELLOW ELMS" 

THE picturesque town of Gorham, Maine, 
lies about nine miles west of Portland, as 
the County Road winds up over "High- 
field Hill" and out through Saccarappa Village ; 
and its Normal School buildings together with its 
tall water tower on the hill, are, on a clear day, 
conspicuous objects on the horizon from some of 
the higher altitudes of Portland. 

"Longfellow Elms," a two-mile drive from 
Gorham Corner, was the home of Longfellow's 
paternal grandparents. Here, the youthful Long- 
fellow spent many of those weekly and fort- 
nightly vacations that occurred during his early 
school years. 

Standing before the splendidly proportioned 
frame building that formerly served as the home 
of Judge Longfellow, it does not take a very 
great stretch of the imagination to recall the 
picture of the village street as it was in the days 
of the elderly judge. 

Beneath the overhanging boughs of the grace- 
ful elms which lined either side of the street, 



142 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

and which had been set out by the judge him- 
self, were the narrow earth-worn and dehghtful 
paths that served the village as sidewalks. — On 
the one side was the fine old homestead around 
the base of which, then as now, lovingly twined 
the sweet briers and damask rose and cinnamon 
bushes, which were set out by Patience Long- 
fellow, the judge's wife; while close against it, 
grew the syringa bushes and white lilacs, which 
to-day give out as sweet and fragrant odors as 
in the days when the old manse sheltered its 
original occupants. 

Across the road was the blacksmith's shop, in 
front of which it was no uncommon sight to see 
standing the old carts, while the farm horses or 
ox team were l:)eing shod ; while in the door- 
way stood the children watching the flying 
sparks from the anvil with as keen an interest 
as present day children are wont to exhibit in 
this fascinating occupation. 

From here also views could be had of the 
picturesque bridge which crossed the brook a 
short distance away, and a glimpse, at the turn 
of the road, of the schoolhouse of "forlorn 



^"■Longfellow Elms" 143 

pattern" which has since been superseded by a 
modern structure known as the "Longfellow 
Schoolhouse ;"' while perhaps one might have 
seen the judge himself walking down the road, 
or getting onto the stage to make the necessary 
journey to attend court in the neighboring town, 
"a fine looking gentleman with the bearing of 
the old-school, an erect, portly figure, rather tall, 
wearing the old style dress, long coated small 
clothes and white topped boots, his hair tied be- 
hind in a club with black ribbon." 

We have, unfortunately, no picture of Alistress 
Patience, Henry's grandmother, but who can 
think of her as other than as a sweet faced and 
sweet voiced little lady whose serene mind was 
fully equal to the household duties and social 
requirements of that day ; and who is there that 
cannot see her as she was then dressed in the 
costume, or to go back, according to the "cus- 
tom" of the times, with the low cut bodice and 
"tuck-up," while around her neck and shoulders 
a tucker, perhaps "of rich Dresden lace softened 
the contour of the figure," — the graceful hang- 
ing skirt, — the white ruffled cap that imparted 
dignity on occasion? 



144 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

On many an evening-, during- those delightful 
days when Henry was allowed to visit the old 
place, he sat listening in breathless attention 
while the judge narrated stories of the wars, of 
the Indian fights, of the burning of the distant 
town by the British, and the legends of the time. 
That the efifect of these impressions on the mind 
of at least one youthful hearer was not lost, 
some of the songs of the poet in after life give 
ample evidence. Who knows but Hiawatha 
may have had its beginnings in the early stories 
of his grandfather Longfellow? 

Day after day he would wander with his play- 
mates through the woods, gun in hand, happy 
hearted, care free, laughter loving, a delightful 
companion: hut it was for the freedom of the 
woods, and the joy of being out in them with 
his companions, not for the sport that the others 
found pleasure in, that he cared. 

Curtis River, about a mile away from the 
homestead, was the scene of many a visit of the 
little fellow, who, if he did not care for game, 
liked to go a-fishing. Of this river, in his col- 
lege days, he writes in The Angler's Song, 



'■'■ Longfellow Elms'''' 145 

which was first printed in the U . S. Literary 
Gazette and was afterwards reprinted in an 
anthology which was pubHshed in 1826. 



THE ANGLER'S SONG 

From the river's plashy bank 

Where the sedge grows green and rank 

And the twisted woodbine springs, 
Upward speeds the morning lark 
To its silver cloud — and hark ! 

On his way the woodman sings. 

Where the embracing ivy holds 
Close the hoar elm in its folds 

In the meadow's fenny land, 
And the winding river sweeps 
Thro' its shallows and still deeps, 

Silent with my rod I stand. 

But when sultry suns are high 
Underneath the oak I lie. 

As it shades the water's edge ; 
And I mark my line away 
In the wheeling eddy play, 

Tanaflinc: with the river sedge. 



146 The Youthful Haunts of Lofigfellow 

When the eye of evening looks 

On green woods and winding brooks, 

And the wind sighs o'er the lea, 
Woods and streams, I leave you then. 
While the shadows in the glen 

Lengthen by the greenwood tree. 

^\'hen Henry was older, but while he was still 
in school, he drove occasionally to Sebago Lake, 
where, with his friends, he tempted the gamy 
salmon, much as the present day devotees of 
Izaak Walton are still wont to do. Here he 
played among the granite boulders and in the 
strange cave in which the youthful but solitary 
Hawthorne found enjoyment. These boulders, 
known as the "Images" from the peculiar Indian 
characters depicted on their surface, are among 
the chief items of interest to the tourist who 
takes the trip by steamer up Sebago Lake. The 
hieraglyphics or images are supposed to tell a 
sad but tragic tale of the love of an Indian 
maiden and a brave chief who, forbidden by the 
tenets of his tribe to marry, one night went with 
her in a canoe to the middle of the lake, and 
neither were ever seen again- 



'■'■Longfellow Elms'''' 147 

Across the lake tourists enter the mouth of 
the smuous Songo, a river so narrow, that at 
times it seems as if the steamer must run into 
the opposite shore as it comes to a bend. So 
winding is it that it appears to be a veritable 
maze, and so clear, that the reflections of the 
trees and shrubs along its bank are reflected so 
plainly that in several photographs taken at one 
time by the writer, it was almost impossible to 
tell which was the shore and which was the re- 
flection. So many bends there are and so many 
picturesque surprises await the traveler that at 
many a turn it brings forth an involuntary "O" 
or "Ah" from the beholder. It is one of the 
"little rivers" that would delight the heart of a 
Henry \'an Dyke, and for condensed beauty of 
nature it is without a rival in this part of the 
country. 

Who is there who is not familiar with Long- 
fellow's beautiful description of the Songo River 
beginning, 



"Nowhere such a devious stream, 
Save in fancv or in dream, 



148 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

Winding slow through bush and brake 
Links together lake and lake. 

"Walled with woods or sandy shelf, 
Ever doubling on itself 
Flows the stream, so still and slow 
That it scarcely seems to flow." 



It is hardly probable that Longfellow did not 
go up the Songo River when a boy on his semi- 
annual visits to Sebago Lake, but the verses 
which have made it famous were not written 
until he had nearly reached the age allotted by 
scripture of "three score years and ten." 

So will the mind of man revert to his youth, 
and if he is gifted in expression so will the 
thought and pictures of the places visited in his 
early life be given to the world in his advancing 
years. 

The Longfellow Farm at Gorham was a 
favorite haunt of all the Longfellow boys in 
their youth, and the Rev. Samuel Longfellow, 
the youngest brother of the poet, at the age of 
twenty, wrote the following verses on the occa- 
sion of a visit to the home of his grandparents 













"WHERE THE EMBRACING IVY HOLDS 
CLOSE THE HOAR ELM IN ITS FOLDS." 



THE LONGFELLOW HOMESTEAD, GORHAM, MAINE 



*' Long/el/o7v Elms " 151 

at the end of his college career. The last of the 
old people had departed this life nine years be- 
fore, but the old place still remained within the 
possession of the Longfellow family. 

Who is there among us who can look with in- 
difference on the picture of the old homestead 
that the poet has drawn ? 

THE HOMESTEAD 
By Samuel Longfellow. 

Home of my fathers ! once again 

I stand beneath the shade 
Of those ancestral trees where once 

A dreamy child I played. 
Those ancient elms still o'er thy roof 

Their sheltering branches spread ; 
But they who loved their pleasant shade 

In heavenly places tread. 

No longer at the window now 

Their friendly glance I catch, 
No longer hear, as I approach, 

The sound of lifted latch ; 
The ready hand which once threw wide 

The hospitable door, — 



152 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

1 know its warm and hearty grasp 
Still answers mine no more. 

The red rose by the window still 

Blooms brightly as of old; 
The woodbines still around the door 

Their shining- leaves unfold. 
The pale syring-a scents the air 

Through the long summer hours ; 
But ah ! the old beloved hands 

No longer pluck their flowers. 

I wander where the little brook 

Still keeps its tranquil flow. 
Where blooms the crimson cardinal, 

And golden lilies glow. 
Or. crossing o'er the wooden bridge, 

I loiter on my way. 
To watch where, in the sunny depths. 

The darting minnows play. 

That little bridge, the vine-clad elms 

That guarded either end. — 
Oh, with that spot how many dreams. 

Flow many memories blend ! 
When summer suns at morning kissed 

The dew from grass and flower. 
I've wandered there : and lingered long 

At evening's hoi}- hour. 



"■Longfellow Elms" 153 

Still, as each spring- returns, those trees 

Put on their garments green ; 
And still in summer hues arrayed 

Those blooming flowers are seen ; 
And when the autumn winds come down 

To wrestle with the wood. 
The gold and crimson leaves are shed 

To float along the flood. 

Thus seasons pass, and year on year 

Follows with ceaseless pace ; 
Though all things human change or die. 

Unchanged is Nature's face. 
Yet, when these well-remembered scenes 

Before my vision g"lide, 
I feel that they who made them fair 

No more are by my side. 

And one there was — now distant far — 

Who shared my childish plays. 
With whom I roamed in deeper joy 

In boyhood's thoughtful days. 
Dear cousin, round thine early home 

When truant memory 
Ling-ers in dreams of fond regret, 

Dost thou e'er think of me? 



WADSWORTH HALL — HIRAM, MAINE 



WADSWORTH HALL— HIRAM, MAINE 




The Wadsworth Arms 



HE paternal grandfather 
of Henry Wadsworth 
Longfellow, General 
Peleg Wadsworth, was, 
in the phraseology of 
colonial times, a man of 
parts and of large posses- 
sions. He, it was, who 
constructed the brick 
house on Congress Street 
in the years 1784-6, now known as the Wads- 
worth-Longfellow Mansion. 

It was only four years after the time that this 
mansion was completed, that the "new Nation of 
Sovereign States" deeded General Peleg Wads- 
worth 7800 acres of land extending from the 
Ossippee to the Saco, in appreciation of his 
staunch adherence to the colonial cause. 

The story of General Wadsworth's career is a 
long, yet extremely interesting one. Of Puritan 
stock, being a descendant of John Alden and 



158 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

Priscilla ^Mullens of "Mayflower memory," he 
was not only a born fighter himself, but his 
patriotism was handed down to his son, Henry 
Wadsworth, a lieutenant in the American navy, 
for whom the poet was named. 

Henry Wadsworth, it may be remembered, 
was one of the brave officers in the fire-ship. 
Intrepid, which was blown up in September, 
1804, to "save it from falling into the hands of 
the enemy," all of whom, preferring death to 
slavery, voluntarily perished in the attempt. A 
monument to this brave young man has been 
erected almost within arms length of the graves 
of the "dead captains" in the Eastern Cemetery 
in Portland, and on the southeast face of the 
cenotaph is this inscription : 

"Determined at once, they prefer death and 
the destruction of the enemy to captivity and 
torturing slavery." 

This momiment was erected by General Wads- 
worth, father of the lieutenant. 

General Wadsworth's military record began 
immediately after the battle of Lexington. He 
raised a company of minute men, and at the ex- 



Wadsworth Hall — Hiram, Maine 159 

pedition against Biguydnce or Bagaduce, now 
Castine, was second in command. At this time 
he was adjutant-general of Massachusetts. Al- 
though the Bagaduce expedition proved dis- 
astrous to the American forces, it was through 
no fault of the brave general. 

The story of General Wadsworth's capture by 
the British is as thrilling as that of the sur- 
prising of the British general at Ticonderoga, 
when he was commanded by Ethan Allen "in the 
name of God and the Continental Congress," to 
surrender; while the story of the general's 
escape reads like a chapter from a modern his- 
torical novel. 

It seems that the term of service of the six 
hundred troops under his command had expired, 
and he was left in a secluded building on the 
borders of a small stream in Thomaston, with a 
guard of only six soldiers. Through spies the 
British learned of his defenseless condition and 
planned an adroit attack. Lieut. Stockton was 
sent with a command of twenty-five to take him 
prisoner. At midnight of February 18, 1781, 
having left their vessel anciiored at a point four 



i6o The Youthful Hau7its of Longfellow 

miles to the eastward, from which they marched 
under cover of darkness, they surprised the 
small party, all of whom, excepting the guard, 
were sleeping, unconscious of danger. 

The sentinel, seeing the approaching party, 
rushed into the house ; and after him, through 
the open door came a volley of bullets. 

Imagine the efifect of being rudely awakened 
from a sound sleep by smashing in of windows, 
the barking of musketry, and the whizzing of 
bullets across the room from Avindow and door- 
wa}' ! 

Enough to apall the stoutest heart, yet the 
general seizing a brace of pistols drove the at- 
tacking party back to the door, and kept them at 
bay with a blunderbuss : then, seizing a bayonet 
he defended himself, until a bullet, crashing 
through his arm, rendered him helpless. 

With his arm hanging useless at his side, and 
blood pouring from his wound, he announced his 
surrender. His wife, though begging permis- 
sion, was not allowed to dress her husband's 
w^ound, and with a blanket thrown over his 
shoulders, he was hurried out into the cold. 



Wadsworth Hall — Hiravi^ Maine 163 

Although so severely wounded, the general was 
marched a mile through the snow, until his 
strength entirely gave out, when he was put on 
one of his own horses, which had up to this time 
been carrying a British soldier. 

At the point of embarkation, the captain of 
the English privateer came up to him and ex- 
claimed angrily, "You d d rebel, go and help 

launch the boat or I will run you through with 
my sword !" General Wadsworth's only reply 
was, "I am your prisoner, wounded and helpless, 
you may treat me as you please." 

Lieut. Stockton, whose admiration the general 
had won by his heroic defense, came promptly to 
the rescue. Turning to the brutal ship master 
he said, "The prisoner is a gentleman. He has 
made a brave defense. He is entitled to be 
treated honorably." 

After remaining a prisoner at Castine for two 
months and seeing the day of his departure for 
England approaching: and realizing that if he 
was taken across the ocean he would never re- 
turn alive, he, with a brave companion. Major 
Benjamin Burton, who at the time of his capture 



164 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

by the British had been in command of a fortress 
in the present town of Gushing, planned an 
escape. 

With no better tools than a pen knife and a 
gimlet, after three weeks' labor, they cut an 
opening in the pine ceiling in their room. Each 
cut and boring, as it was made, was concealed by 
being filled with paste made from bread moistened 
in their mouths. 

On June 18th, during a night as black as the 
proverbial darkness of Egypt, and with the rain 
pouring in torrents, they removed the panel 
which they had cut out, and escaped. Shielded 
by the tempest, and fastening a blanket to a 
picket, General Wadsworth who had become 
separated from his companion, let himself down 
into a trench twenty-five feet below. 

Undaunted by the down-pouring rain, and be- 
lieving his friend to be lost, he groped his way to 
a cove, where at low tide he waded, with the 
water above his waist, for nearly a mile to the 
opposite shore. At sunrise he came upon the 
major and both were overcome with inex- 
pressible joy. 



Wadsworth Hall — Hiram, Maine 165 

Though pursued by the enemy, they pushed 
on and by the aid of a small pocket compass 
were, after three days, safely back among the 
habitations of the Americans. Finding his fam- 
ily had, during his absence, gone to Boston, the 
general followed them thither, where the re- 
union with his dear ones was finally effected. 

The construction of Wadsworth Hall on the 
large grant at Hiram was not begun until some 
time after the land had been deeded to General 
Wadsworth, but in 1807 the mansion was com- 
pleted and in this year (the year of the poet's 
birth) the general moved hither with his family 
to take up his domain on his vast estate. And 
hither, wdien Longfellow had attained the age 
of eight months, he was taken for his first 
visit to the grand old mansion in the wilder- 
ness. In fact the first glimpse of the poet on 
record is given in a letter written by his mother 
from Wadsworth Hall during this visit. In this 
letter she says, "He is an active rogue, and 
wishes for nothing so much as singing and 
dancing." 

As the youthful Longfellow grew to be old 



1 66 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

enough to travel alone, it became his custom to 
visit his grandparents at the hall, and for this 
purpose he would board the old stage to take 
the thirty-seven mile journey to Hiram. 

Here, in the old manse with its high ceilings 
and unpainted walls clothed in virgin pine, now 
mellowed with age and soft as satin to the touch, 
he would listen in rapt attention while his grand- 
father recounted his thrilling adventures, his 
capture by the British, his life in the prison at 
Castine, and his escape. 

Xor were the tales of Baron Castine. the 
young French nobleman who married the daugh- 
ter of the Indian chieftain, Madockawando, of 
less interest to the boy ; and indeed Longfellow, 
in ISM. wrote the story of "Baron Castine of 
St. Castine." as the Student's Second Tale, in the 
Talcs of a Wayside Inn. — of "The Young Baron 
of St. Castine. Swift as the wind is. and as wild."- 
who "married a dusky Tarratine, * * * 
Aladockawando's child !" 

As one approaches \\'adsw<)rth Hall from the 
river, he is suddenly surprised at a turn in the 
road, by coming upon the great house standing 



Wads7Vorih Hall — Hiram, Maine 169 

upon a level piece of farm land within the 
shadow of Rattlesnake Mountain; and it might 
well be believed that on the whole tract was 
there to be found no place more suitable for the 
location of such a mansion. 




Gen. Peleg Wadsworth 

The old building was constructed "on honor" 
as its firm foundations mutely testify and its 
great cellar through which formerly the ox- 
cart was driven with its loads of winter apples. 
huge yellow pumpkins, and heads of mammoth 
cabbages, in distributing the supply of "stores" 
for the winter, is only one of the many interest- 
in"- thing's connected with the old house ; while 



170 The Youthful Haunts of Longfelloiu 

the enormous fireplaces, large enough to take in 
the great logs of cord wood length, are enough 
to excite exclamations of pleasure from all ad- 
mirers of the things of bygone days. 

The walls of the large hall, which is the chief 
center of the house, are well covered with maps 
and plans of the Wadsw^orth Lands, and on one 
of these walls hangs the original warranty deed 
of the grant of the 7800 acres to General Wads- 
worth. 

!Many indeed must have been the interests of 
the general with his acres of timberland from 
which could be cut the masts for the navies of 
the world. 

Zil])ah, his daughter, the mother of the poet, 
was remembered as "a woman of exceeding 
sweetness of manner, most beautiful in personal 
appearance ; kind and gracious to all." 

Of her,the poet's brother has written. "Beauti- 
ful in her youth, Mrs. Longfellow retained 
through later years of invalidism a sweet and ex- 
pressive countenance, a slight but upright 
figure." From her must have come to her son 
the imaginative and romantic side of his nature. 



Wadsivorth Hall — Hiram, Maine 171 

An ideal mother, she shared the troubles, the 
little secrets and the joys of her children, while 
her simple unquestioning- piety and gentleness of 
disposition had much to do with the moulding of 
the beautiful character of the poet. 




Elizabeth Wadsworth 

The sweet remembrance of a boy's mother is 
one of the greatest heritages into which a youth 
can come. From it, if she has been the ideal 
mother, will emanate a fragrance that will un- 
consciously, perhaps, influence all the actions of 
his future life. 

In the old burial lot of the Wadsworths, sleeps 
to-day the founder of Wadsworth Hall, a 



172 The Youthful Haunts of Longfellow 

patriot himself, the father of patriots and 
heroes and grandfather of the most widely loved 
poet the world ever knew ! Great indeed is 
the man who has given to the world such noble 
and illustrious posterity ! 



THE LIGHTHOUSE" 



"THE LIGHTHOUSE" 



AS one stands in the front windows of the 
Wadsworth-Longfellow house to-day and 
sees the brick walls of the buildings across 
the way. it is hard to realize that from these 
windows once stretched a view of surpassing" 
loveliness. The bay, the islands, the cape shore, 
and the light at Portland Head were all plainly 
visible from the windows of the poet's sleeping- 
room ; and from these windows he could 

"see the tides, 
Upheaving, break unheard" 

along the foot of the lighthouse some three miles 
away. 

The lighthouse at Portland Head, it may be of 
interest to note, is the oldest lighthouse on the 
Atlantic coast. 

The first entry in Parson Deane's diary in 1T91 
is a brief one : 

"January 10. Light in the lighthouse." 



176 The Youthful Haiaits of Lo7igfellotii 

Nothing else ; but in a foot note by Willis, the 
historian, we learn that, "as early as 1785, the 
representative from this town was instructed to 
urge upon the government of Massachusetts the 
erection of a lighthouse at the mouth of this 
(Portland) harbor. Lint from the poverty of the 
country nothing was done for a year or two. At 
length the work was undertaken but proceeded 
slowly until the organization of the General Gov- 
ernment. In August, 1790, Congress appropri- 
ated $1500 to finish the work, and it was com- 
pleted within five months of that time. 

:i: * :i: "The stoiicwork was seventy-two feet 
high, and the lantern fifteen feet, making eighty- 
seven feet ; this was found too high, and about 
twenty years after, twenty feet were taken off. 
The master builders were John Nichols and Jona- 
than Bryant, masons of this town." 

The strategic advantages of Portland I lead, or 
Portland Point as it was then called, were recog- 
nized during Revolutionary times, and this 
valuable governmental location now occupied by 
one of the largest forts in the United States, had 
its small share in history making, as the fol- 



" The Lighthouse " 177 

lowing order copied from Colonel Jonathan 
Mitchell's order book will bear out: 

"Falmouth, May 7, 1776. 

"General orders of Capt- Bryant Alorton's 

Company at Cape Elizabeth. That you keep one 

sergeant or corporal, with seven privates as a 

guard on Portland Point — on discovery of a 

ship, to fire a gun on Portland Point as an alarm, 

and in case any number of small vessels, more 

than two, and large enough for armed vessels, to 

fire two guns at Spring Point, and in case they 

prove to be enemies to use your best endeavors 

to annoy them. * '■' * * 

"Jonathan Mitchell, 

"Commanding Ojficer." 

The guns used at Portland Point and at Spring 
Point were brought to the old town of Falmouth, 
as Portland was then called, from Boston in 
July, 1776, by Capt. Cox, to which place they had 
been carried late in the previous year from 
Ticonderoga. Forty-two sleds were used in 
transporting the cannon and mortars over the 
snow. 



178 The Youthful Haunts of Lotigfelloiv 

During the period of one hundred and six 
years that the light at Portland Head has seen 
service, there have been but ten keepers. The 
first was one Eben Delano. The present keeper 
is Joseph Strout, who succeeded his father, Capt- 
Joshua Strout in 1901, after thirty-five years of 
service. 

From the lips of the elder Strout. I heard the 
story of the wreck of the Annie ]\Iaguire which 
went ashore in the eighties on as fair a night as 
one could imagine ; and how he had taken the 
crew oflf the wrecked vessel by the light made 
from the burning of blankets by his faithful wife, 
who had first cut them into stri])s and then satur- 
ated them in kerosene oil. 

Longfellow in his youth took many a walk 
along the Cape shore. We have no record of his 
having visited the lighthouse at I^jrtland Head, 
though in 1847 while staying at the \'erandah, 
he went out to the Two Lights and climbed to 
the top of the revolving one. 

Previous to the establishing of l'\)rt Williams 
h}- the government, the lighthouse was surround- 
ed by a tangled mass of bushes and briers, which 



'■'■The Lighthouse'''' i8i 

were formidable enough to keep the less ad- 
venturous at a distance ; but now the approach 
to the light is along smooth roadways and side- 
walks and over well kept parade grounds ; but 
one is liable to be challenged by the sentry who 
will ask if he knows any one at the light. 

Here is the lighthouse as Longfellow saw it 
from his chamber windows. 

THE LIGHTHOUSE 

1849 

The rocky ledge runs far into the sea, 
And on its outer point, some miles away, 

The Lighthouse lifts its massive masonry, 
A pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day. 

Even at this distance I can see the tides, 
L^pheaving, break unheard along its base, 

A speechless wrath, that rises and subsides 
Li the white lip and tremor of the face. 

And as the evening darkness, lo ! how bright. 
Through the deep purple of the twilight air, 

Beams forth the sudden radiance of its light 
With strange, unearthly splendor in the glare ! 



i82 The Youthful Haunts of Longfelhmi 

Not one alone ; from each projecting cape 
And perilous reef along the ocean's verge, 

Starts into life a dim, gigantic shape, 

Holding its lantern o'er the restless surge. 

Like the great giant Christopher it stands 
Upon the brink of the tempestuous wave. 

Wading far out among the rocks and sands. 
The night o'ertaken mariner to save. 

And the great ships sail outward and return. 

Bending and bowing o'er the billowy swells, 
And ever joyful, as they see it burn. 

They wave their silent welcomes and farewells. 

They come forth from the darkness, and their sails 
Gleam for a moment on!}- in the blaze, 

And eager faces, as the light unveils. 

Gaze at the tower, and vanish while they gaze. 

The mariner remembers when a child, 

On his first voyage, he saw it fade and sink. 

And when, returning from adventures wild. 
He saw it rise again o'er ocean's brink. 

Steadfast, serene, immovable, the same 

Year after year, through all the silent night 

Hums on forevermore that quenchless flame 
Shines on that inextinguishable liijht ! 



" The Lighthouse'''' 183 

It sees the ocean to its bosom clasp 

The rocks and sea-sand with the kiss of peace ; 
It sees the wild winds lift it in their grasp, 

And hold it up, and shake it like a fleece. 

The startled waves leap over it ; the storm 
Smites it with all the scourges of the rain, 

And steadily against its solid form 

Press the great shoulders of the hurricane. 

The sea-bird wheeling round it, with the din 
Of wings and winds and solitary cries. 

Blinded and maddened by the light within, 
Dashes himself against the glare, and dies. 

A new Prometheus, chained upon the rock. 
Still grasping in his hand the fire of Jove, 

It does not hear the cry, nor heed the shock. 
But hails the mariner with words of love. 

"Sail on!" it says, "sail on, ye stately ships! 

And with your floating bridge the ocean span ; 
Be mine to guard this light from all eclipse. 

Be yours to bring man nearer unto man !" 



THE RAINY DAY 



THE RAINY DAY 

ACROSS the hall from the old kitchen in 
the Wadsworth Mansion is the dining 
room or den. where, at the desk now 
standing before its one window, Longfellow 
wrote, on an autumn afternoon in 1841, "The 
Rainy Day." 

THE RAINY DAY 

1841 

The day is cold, and dark, and dreary ; 
It rains, and the wind is never weary ; 
The vine still clings to the mouldering wall. 
But at every gust the dead leaves fall, 
And the day is dark and dreary. 

My life is cold, and dark, and dreary ; 
It rains, and the wind is never weary ; 
My thoughts still cling to the mouldering Past, 
But the hopes of youth fall thick in the blast. 
And the days are dark and dreary. 

Be still, sad heart ! and cease repining ; 
Behind the clouds is the sun still shining ; 



1 88 The Youthful Ha imts of Lo7igfelIo7ii 

Thy fate is the common fate of all, 
Into each life some rain must fall. 
Some days must be dark and dreary. 



Sad words 3'ou will say. but it must be remem- 
bered that Long-fellow was still mourning- the 
wife of his youth when these verses were writ- 
ten, and the "hopes of youth" seemed to him to 
have fallen "thick in the blast," and as he looked 
out of the window and saw the garden through 
the vine covered pergola, the leaves and flowers 
falling to the ground, the annuals gone to seed, 
the shrubs and trees being denuded of their 
beautifid summer garments, is it a wonder that 
his thoughts played in a minor key? 

From this garden as a child he had n-iany a 
time plucked the flowers on a Sunday morning 
and carried them in his hand while he walked to 
church with his mother. 

Here also had been gathered the flowers, pos- 
sibly augmented by some from the once famous 
garden of the widow P*reble next door, that had 
been used on that notable occasion, when, in the 




THE ULD GARMEX OF THE WAUSWORTH-LONnFKLLoW 
MANSION 

Courtesy of Maine Historical Society 



The Rainy Day 191 

year 1815 the five children of Stephen and Ehza- 
beth Long'fellow (there were but five at that 
time — Stephen, aged ten ; Henry, aged eight : 
Ehzabeth, aged six ; Anne, aged five ; and Alex- 
ander, a baby in arms), were baptized by the 
Reverend Ichabod Nichols of the old First Parish 
Church. 

The g'arden with its pinks, its lilacs, its spireas, 
its clematis and its roses is now a memory only. 
Its apple trees covered with blossoms have long- 
since disappeared. Where once the old barn 
stood has been erected the handsome new build- 
ing of the Maine Historical Society and through 
the vista made by the old arbor may, at the time 
of this writing, be seen the towering walls of a 
large theatre which is now being constructed for 
the pleasure of Portland's populace. What one 
of the old inhabitants who lived in the day of the 
poet's father would have dreamed it I 

In those days the law would not allow the pro- 
duction of plays for profit but the following ad- 
vertisement in the Portland Gazette of July 4, 
1820, shows how the law was evaded : 



192 The Youthful Haunts of Longfelhnv 

"The public are respectfully informed that 
there will be a Concert of vocal and Instru- 
mental music this evening-. Between the parts 
of the Concert there will be perfo'rmed (gratis) 
a celebrated Play in three acts, called 

THE POINT OF HONOR 

to conclude with Shakespeare's admired farce in 
three acts (gratis ). called 

KATHERINE AND PETRUCHIO." 



Those were good old Puritan times when 
many of the pleasures, now considered inno- 
cent enough, were then under the ban of the law, 
or at best were looked u])()n askance; but ihey 
were character l)uil(ling' ones also, and from 
the stern forefathers of those days have 
sprung- the hardy New England race of people 
who, spread out as they are to-day all over the 
country, are the l)u!warks of the nation. 

The old garden meant much to the poet in his 
childhood, his youth, and in his after life. lie 
refers to it many times in his journal and in his 
correspondence. Some of the first meetings with 
Marv Potter were held in tin's garden ; and some 



The Kaifiy Day 193 

of his happiest hours were passed there with his 
wife, — his "early love," whose memory later was 
to inspire the only love song ever written by 
Longfellow. It was entitled, "The Evening 
Star," and was not written until many years 
after her death. These beautiful lines show to 
some extent the deep and tender reverence in 
which he always held the memory of the wife 
of his 3'outh. 

THE EVENING STAR 

Lo ! in the painted oriel of the West, 

Whose panes the sunken sun incarnadines, 
Like a fair lady at her casement, shines 
The evening star, the star of love and rest ! 

And then anon she doth herself divest 

Of all her radiant garments, and reclines 
Behind the sombre screen of yonder pines, 
With slumber and soft dreams of love op- 
pressed. 

O my beloved, my sweet Hesperus ! 

My morning and my evening star of love ! 
My best and gentlest lady ! even thus. 

As that fair planet in the sky above, 
Dost thou retire unto thy rest at night. 
And from thv darkened window fades the light. 



194 The Youthful Ha luiis of Longfellow 

Though the old garden with its hallowed asso- 
ciations is gone, that portion of the old yard that 
remains is a pleasant place in which to linger. 
Standing there, one sees the transomed door- 
way which opens onto the long arbor, the trellis 
with its clim])ing bushes, the few shrubs that 
have grown unmolested until they have attained to 
dignified proportions, and the grape vine which 

"still clings to the mouldering wall" 

while the spreading branches of the two remain- 
ing tall elms seem to be invoking a benediction 
over all. 



INDEX 



INDEX 




PAGE 


Academy, Portland .... 




. 15-19-22 


Alden, John 




157 


Allen, Ethan 




• 159 


Allen, Fort, Park . . ... 




. 61 


American Brig Enterprise 




42-79 


Ann Street ...... 




. 128 


"Autumn "...... 




41 


Bab, Peter 




. 117 


Back Cove 




. 127 


Bagaduce 




■ I.S9 


Baptism of Longfellow Children . 




. 191 


Baron Castine 




. 166 


Biguyduce 




• 159 


Birth of Longfellow .... 




. I -I I 


Birthplace of Longfellow 




5-31-32-113 


Birthplace and Boyhood of Longfellow . 




I 


Blyth, Capt. Samuel .... 


63- 


-79-83-84-87-88 


Boxer, British Brig . . 63-77- 
Brick House, First in Portland 


-7Q- 


-80—81—82—84—92 


/ V 


12 


Bridge, Martin's Point .... 




120 


Bridge, Tukey's ..... 




127-129 


Broke, Captain ..... 




■ • 83 


Bryant, Jonathan .... 




. . 176 


Burrows, Lieut. William . 63-79-80 


-81- 


-82-87-88-89-93 


Burton, Major Benjamin 




• . "63 


Capture of General Wadsworth . 




159-160-163 


Carter, Master 




22 


Castine 




159-166 



198 



Ifit/ex 



Castine, Baron 








. 166 


Cemetery, Eastern 








79-S5-15S 


Cemetery, Oldest in I'ortland 








79 


Chadwick House . 








'7 


'' Changed " . 








106 


Church, First Parish 








'7-43 


Classmates of Longfellow 








27 


Concert in Longfellow's Time 








. 192 


Congress .... 








89-176 


Congress Street 








. 128 


Constitution .... 








So 


Cox, Captain 








• '77 


Cross, Thomas 








127 


Curtis River .... 








'44 


" Dead Captains" 








. 158 


Deane's Journal . 








128-175 


Death of Mrs. Longfellow 








47-188 


Deering I'ark 








65-73 


Deering's Woods . 








65-73 


Delano, Eben 








. 178 


Diary, Deane's 








• '75 


Dodge, Jeremiah & Son 








• '3° 


Eastern Cemetery 






79-85-' 58 


Elms, Longfellow 






• '39 


Elm, Washington 






97-101 


Enterprise, American Brig 


63-77-79-80-8 1-S2-S3-84-87-S9-90-92 


Evangeline 113 


" Evening Star, The " . . . . '93 


Falmouth 177 


Federal Street House. Brunswick 








46-47 



Index 



199 



Fellows, Marm ...... 


18 


Fessenden ....... 


. 107 


Fire, Great, in Portland .... 


22 


First Brick House in Portland 


12 


First Letter of Longfellow .... 


17 


First Parish Church 


17-43-191 


First Parish Meeting House 


y:> 


First Published Verses Written by Longfellow 


-3 


Flags 


90 


Flag, Oldest American .... 


90 


Fore Street ....... 


. 127 


Fort Allen Park 


61 


Fort Preble 


■ 87 


Fort Scammel 


■ 87 


Fort Sumner Park ..... 


55 


First Schooldays of Longfellow . 


18 


Garden, Wadsworth-Longfellow Mansion . 


. 189 


Gazette, Portland 


23-28-191 


Gazette, U. S. Literary .... 


• 145 


Goodhue, John ...... 


. 128 


Gorham, Maine 


141 


Grant to Gen. Peleg Wadsworth 


■ '57 


Gray, Billy, Ropewalk 


. 128 


Gray Street 


. 128 


Great Fire in Portland 


22 


Hammond's Ropewalk .... 


■ 127 


Hawthorne, Nathaniel 


27-146 


Hiawatha ....... 


144 


Highfield . . . 97-99-101-104-105-1 


06-107-108 


'^Highfield'' 


95 


Highfield Hill 


141 


Hill, F. Stanhope 


80 



hid ex 



Hiram, Maine 
Historical, Maine Society 
Home of Alexander Longfell 
Horton & Trowbridge . 
Hospital, Marine . 

Intrepid 

'• Keramos " . 
" Keramos " . 
Kingsbury, J. 



. .65 

. 191 

103 

126 

1 15-120 

. .58 

• 123 

:9-i32-i33 
117 



Lafayette Hotel 

Launchings in Portland ...... 32 

Lawrence, Captain ....... 83 

Legend . . . . . . . .146 

Longfellow, Ale.xander .... 97-103-104 

^^ Longfellow Eltiis^' ...... 137-141 

Longfellow Farm . .148 

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Ancestors of, p. 158 
Aspirations of, p. 25 ; Baptism of, p. 191 ; Birth 
of, p. I T ; Birthplace of, pp. i, 5, 8, 31,32, 113 
Boyhood of, p. i; Church attended, p. 17 
Classmates of, p. 27 ; Death of wife of, p. 188 
First glimpse of, p. 165 ; P'irst housekeeping, pp 
46, 47; First letter of, p. 17; First published 
verses of, p. 23; First school attended, p. 18; 
First school days of, p. 18 ; Favorite portrait of, 
p. 197; Grandfather, maternal of, pp. 17, 157, 
158, 159, 160, 163, 164, 165; Grandfather, pater- 
nal of, pp. 141, 143; Grandmother, maternal of, 
p. 172; Grandmother, paternal of, p. 1 58 ; Home 
of his youth, pp. 9, 13, 17, 90, 187 ; Last poem 
to appear in Gazette, p. 28 ; Life in Brunswick, 



Index 



pp. 46, 47 ; Poems of, pp. 24, 28, 35, 41, 47, 48, 
51, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 106, 121, 
125, 131, 133, 136, 145, 147, 151, 166, 181, 187; 
Portait of, Frontispiece, xxv ; Silhouette of mother 
of, p. 51 ; Statue of, p. 4; Successful hold on 
the people, p. 136; Tragedy of childhood, p. 21 ; 
Wife of, pp. 42, 45- 

Longfellow, Home of Alexander 103 

Longfellow, Judge Stephen 141-143 

Longfellow, Patience . . . . . • .142 

Longfellow Monument ..... 4 

Longfellow, Rev. Samuel ..... 24-148 

Longfellow Schoolhouse ...... 143 

Longfellow Square . . . . • .6 

Longfellow, Zilpah Wadsworth . . .170 

Love Lane .... 



Madockawando 
Maine Historical Society 
Marine Hospital . 
Market Hall 
Market Square 
Marm Fellows 
Marston's Tavern . 
Martin's Point Bridge . 
Mazeppa .... 

McCall, Lieut. Edward 
Meeting-house, First Parish . 
Meeting-house, Rev. Mr. Payson's 
Milestone, The Ancient 
Miniature Model of Market Hall 
Middle Street, Portland 
Mitchell, Jonathan 
Monument Square 



166 

191 

113-115 

38-39 

12 

16-19 

12 

120 

117 

^3-84 

33 

85 

107 

38 
67-69 

177 
12 



202 



Index 



Monument to Henry Wadsworth 

Monument, Soldiers' and Sailors' 

Morton Mansion . 

Mullens, Priscilla 

" Musings " . 

" My Lost Youth " 



I 58 

■4 
15S 

41 



Neal, John 
Nichols, John 
Nichols, Rev. Ichabod 
North School 



54-55-56-57-58-59-60-61-62-63-64- 
65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-80 



107 

176 

191 

79 



Oldest American Flag in Existence 
Oldest Burying (Iround in I'ortkmd 

Park, Deering 
Park, Fort Allen 
Park, Fort Sumner 
Park Street 
Parris Street 
Parson Deane's Diary 
Parsonage 

Patience Longfellow, Mistres: 
Payson, Rev. Mr., Meeting-house of 
Portland Academy 
Portland's First Brick Mouse- 
Portland Gazette . 
Portland's Great Fuc 
Portland 
Portland Head 
Portland Point 
Potter, Mary Stor^r 
Potter's Lane 



90 
79 

65-73 
61 

55 
. 128 

• 127 
175 

17 
'43 

• 'S 
15-19-22 

12 

23-28-191 

20 

107 

75-176-178 

176-177 

4-^ -'93 
130 



Index 



203 



Preble, Commodore 
Preble House 
Preble, Fort . 
Preble Mansion 
Preble, Widow 
Priscilla Mullens . 

Rattlesnake Mountain 
Ropewalk .... 
Ropeiualk and Keramos 

School, Marm Fellows . 

School, North 

Schoolhouse Longfellow First At 

Scammel, Fort 

Sebago Lake 

Shipyards of Portland . 

Shirley, Mr 

Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument 

" Song of the Birds " . 

" Song," Last Poem in Gazette 

Songo River 

State Street .... 

Statue to Longfellow . 

Stockton, Lieutenant 

Strout, Joshua 

Street, Middle 

Street, State 

Sumner, Fort Park 

Tavern, Marston's 
"The Angler's Song " . 
"The Battle oi Lovell's Pond" 
" The Building of the Ship "' 



125-1 



endt 



13-So 

13 

• 87 

13 

. 1S8 
. 158 

169 
26-127-12S 



18 

79 
18 

■ S7 

146-14S 

3--i'4 

-3 

•3-38 

41 

28-41 

147-148 

. 69 

4 

159-163 

. 178 

67-69 

71 

55 



'4: 



204 



Inde.^ 



'•The Burial of Minnisiiik " 

"The Evening Star" 

" The Footsteps of Angels " 

"The Homestead" 

" The Lighthouse " . 

" The Lighthouse " 

" The Rainy Day " 

" The Rainy Day " 

" The Kopewalk and Keramos " 

" The Sea Fight Far Away " . 

" The Tides " .... 

The Verandah — Evangeline 

Thompson, Colonel 

Ticonderoga ..... 

Tragedy of Longfellow's Childhood 
Tripoli ...... 

Tukey's Hrigde , . . . 
Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth 

U. S. Literary flazelte . 



Verandah . . . . i i i-i 13-1 14-1 iS- 
Verses, First Published, of Longfellow's 



Wads worth Arms ..... 

Wadsworth, Elizabeth ..... 
Wadsworth, Cen. I'eleg 

'7-' 57- 1 5S- 1 59- 1 60- 163- 1 64- 165- 
Wadsworth (Jrant ..... 

Wadsworth, Henry 

Wadsworth Hall .... 1 57-161 -165-166-167- 
Wadsworth Hall, Hiram, Maine ..... 
Wadsworth -Longfellow .Mansion 

9-i3-i7--y-90-i57-i75->S7-i89 



79- 



So- 



41 

19.3 

48 

5' 

75 
Si 

85 
87 
23 
79 
21 

09 
12 

77 
19 
21 

29 

78 

45 
7S 



57 



Index 



205 



Washington Elm ..... 101-103-105 

Waters, Lieut. Kerwin ...... 87-89 

Willis, Historian 87-176 

Williams, Fort 178 

Woodmarket, Old '3 

Youth and Aspirations of Longfello7v . . . .25 

Youth of Longfellow . . . .113 

"Youth, My Lost" 54-55-56-57-58-59-60-61-62-63-64- 

65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-80 






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